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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


: 


X 


THE 


HARMONIES    OF    NATURE 


LONDON 

PRIMED      BY     Si-OTTISWOOCK     AND      CO. 
NKW-STKKKT    SQUARE 


Frontispiece. 


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LAMMERGEIER    ATTACKING    A    STEINBOCK. 


THE 


HARMONIES    OF   NATURE 


OR 


THE    UNITY   OF   CREATION. 


BY 


DE.    G.    HAETWIG 

AUTHOR    OF 
'  THE    SEA    AND    ITS    LIVING    WONDERS  '    AND    '  THE    TROPICAL    WORLD. 


WITH    NUMEROUS    WOODCUTS. 


NEW  YORK : 
D.    APPLETON    AND    CO.,    445    BROADWAY. 

1866. 


PREFACE. 


HARMONY  is  the  universal  law  of  Nature.  Of  all  the  number- 
less forms  of  animals  and  plants  that  deck  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  there  is  not  one  that  is  not  perfectly  fitted  for  its  peculiar 
sphere.  The  configuration  of  our  earth,  and  the  physical  laws  that 
govern  the  waters  and  the  atmosphere,  are  in  complete  unison 
with  the  wants  of  organic  life ;  and  suns  and  planets  wander 
harmoniously  through  illimitable  space.  And  as  it  now  is,  thus 
it  ever  has  been ;  for  the  annals  of  our  globe  bear  witness, 
throughout  all  the  changes  of  the  primeval  world,  to  the  concord 
which  has  constantly  reigned  between  the  physical  condition  of 
the  earth  and  its  inhabitants  at  each  successive  epoch. 

In  the  following  pages  I  have  endeavoured  to  point  out  some 
of  the  most  striking  examples  of  this  fundamental  truth,  which 
so  forcibly  proclaims  the  unity  of  creation.  May  I  have  ac- 
quitted myself  of  my  task  so  as  to  strengthen  my  readers  in 
the  conviction  that  an  All-wise  and  All-powerful  Legislator  has 
constantly  presided  over  the  destinies  of  the  universe ! 

GK  HARTWia. 

HEIDELBERG  : 
9th  April,  1866. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE    STARRY    HEAVENS. 

The  Setting  Sun— The  Splendour  of  the  Starry  Vault— The  First  Step  to  Astro- 
nomical Science — The  Planetary  System — How  hare  we  learnt  to  Measure  its 
Dimensions  ? — Copernicus — Kepler — Newton — Laplace — The  Planetary  Pertur- 
bations reduced  to  Harmony — Discovery  of  Neptune  by  Calculation — Shooting 
Stars  and  Meteoric  Stones — Their  Composition — Spectral  Analysis  of  the  Sun's 
Atmosphere  by  Kirchhof  and  Bunsen — A  Glimpse  into  the  Fixed-Star  Heavens — 
Enormous  Distances  of  the  nearest  Fixed  Stars — Our  World-Island — Nebulae — 
Motions  of  the  Fixed  Stars — Vast  Prospects  into  Space  and  Time — The  Univer- 
sal Harmony  of  Worlds  .  ,v  .  .  .  .  .  PAGE  1 


CHAPTER  II. 

HEAT   AND    LIGHT. 

The  various  Sources  of  Heat— Effects  of  Heat — Dependence  of  Terrestrial  Life  on 
the  actual  Distance  of  the  Earth  from  the  Sun — Relations  of  the  various  Bodies 
to  Heat  —  The  Prismatic  Colours  —  The  Harmony  between  Colours  and  the 
Human  Mind — What  is  Heat  ? — What  is  Light  ? — Importance  of  the  Ethereal 
Spaces  with  regard  to  the  Distribution  of  Heat  and  Light  .  ,:  .  11 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE   ATMOSPHERIC    OCEAN. 

Immensity  of  the  Atmospheric  Ocean — The  Component  Parts  of  the  Atmosphere — 
Oxygen — Nitrogen — Wonderful  Constancy  in  the  Composition  of  the  Atmosphere — 

Antagonism  between  Vegetable  and  Animal  Life— The  System  of  the  Winds 

Dependence  of  all  Terrestrial  Life  upon  the  actual  Constitution  of  the  Atmosphere 
— Atmospheric  Air  but  a  Mixture,  no  Chemical  Combination  of  Oxygen  and 
Nitrogen — Transparency  of  the  Air— Its  Influence  upon  the  Mental  Development 
of  Mankind — Air  considered  as  the  Bearer  of  Sounds — Voices  of  Nature  1 6 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK  IV. 

THE    MAJESTY    OF   THE    OCEAN. 

The  Immensity  of  the  Ocean — Ebb  and  Flood — Causes  of  the  Tides — Their  In- 
fluence on  the  Organic  Life  of  the  Seas — Ocean  Currents — How  produced — 
Their  Importance — Evidences  of  Unity  of  Design  resulting  from  the  intimate  Con- 
nection of  the  Phenomena  of  the  Seas  and  the  distant  Celestial  Bodies  PAGE  21 


CHAPTEK  V. 

THE   ATMOSPHERICAL    PRECIPITATIONS    IN    THEIR   RELATION    TO    ORGANIC 
NATURE. 

The  constant  Sources  of  the  Eivers — The  Harmonies  of  the  Ocean  and  the  Atmo- 
sphere— Distribution  of  Eain  and  Snow  over  the  Surface  of  the  Globe — The  Voice 
of  Eivers — Dew — History  of  its  Formation — Clouds  and  Eain — Snow  and  Ice 
as  Protectors  of  Vegetable  and  Animal  Life — The  Lavines — The  Glaciers — The 
Tornado  27 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

THE   HARMONIES    BETWEEN    THE    PHYSICAL    CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    EARTH   AND 
ITS    INHABITANTS. 

The  Terrestrial  Eevolutions— The  Formation  of  Alluvial  Plains— Beneficial  Effects 
of  the  Inequalities  of  the  Earth's  Surface — "What  do  Petrifactions  teach  ? — Coal 
Strata — The  Subterranean  Treasuries  of  Man — Influence  of  the  Change  of 
Seasons  on  Organic  Life  ,  ,  ,  .  ' ,  ,  '.  37 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

THE    CELLULAR   CONSTRUCTION    OF   PLANTS. 

Prodigious  Variety  of  Plants  —  The  Vegetable  Cell  —  Its  Metamorphoses — Its 
Multiplication — Eapid  Growth  of  the  Lower  Plants — The  Mushrooms — The 
Wonderful  Products  of  the  Vegetable  Cell  —  Magnificence  of  the  Vegetable 
World  '  .  49 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

THE   ROOTS    OF   PLANTS. 

The  Eoots  of  the  Algse,  of  the  Zostera  Marina,  of  the  Sand-reed,  of  the  South 
African  Creepers — The  Eoots  of  the  Forest  Trees — Aerial  Eoots  of  the  Man- 
groves— Their  Influence  on  the  Formation  of  Tropical  Delta-lands — Eadical 
Filaments — Spongioles — Properties  of  Vegetable  Mould — The  Fertilising  In- 
fluence of  Winter  ........  54 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTEE  IX. 

THE    STEMS    OF   PLANTS. 

The  various  Growth  of  Trees — Internal  Structure  of  Plant-stems — Wood  and 
Fibrous  Cells — The  Shafts  of  Palms— Climbing  Plants — Their  various  Modes 
of  Attachment — Tree  Buttresses — Defences  of  Plants — Thorns — Prickles — 
Harmonies  between  the  Trunks  of  Trees  and  the  Wants  of  Man — The  Voices  of 
the  Forest  .......  PAGE  65 

CHAPTEE  X. 

THE  LEAVES   OF   PLANTS. 

The  chief  Ornament  of  Spring — Internal  Structure  of  Leaves — The  Cuticle — 
Stomata  and  Air-cells — Opening  and  Closing  of  the  Stomata — Pliability  and 
resisting  Powers  of  the  Leaves  —  Their  Stems  —  Dionaea  Muscipula  —  The 
Mimosas  —  Enemies  of  the  Leaves  —  Their  Defences  —  Hairs  —  Prickles — 
Secretions — Harmonies  between  Leaves  and  Insects  .  .  .71 

CHAPTEE  XI. 

BLOSSOMS. 

Their  Functions — Their  Accessory  and  Essential  Parts — The  Calyx— The  Corolla — 
The  Pistils — The  Anthers — The  Pollen — Insects  as  Means  of  Fructification — 
The  Vallisneria  Spiralis  .  :  «  .  .  .  .  .  79 

CHAPTEE  XII. 

SEEDS   AND   THEIR  MIGBATIONS. 

Defences  of  Seeds — Their  Dissemination  over  the  Earth — Feathers  and  Wings — 
Cotton — Influence  of  Watercourses — Mangrove  Seeds — The  Animals  and  Man 
as  Disseminators  of  Plants — Progress  of  Vegetation  on  the  originally  naked 
Eock  .........  84 

CHAPTEE  XIII. 

MICROSCOPICAL   PLANTS. 

Uncertain  Limits  between  the  Animal  and  the  Vegetable  World — The  simplest 
Forms  of  Plants  —  Protococci  —  Oscillatoriae  — Volvocinge — Desmidise  —  Dia- 
tomacese — Their  Importance  in  the  Household  of  the  Seas — Their  Geological 
Agency  .  .......  93 

CHAPTEE  XIV. 

MICROSCOPICAL   PROTOZOA. 

Ehizopods  and  Foraminifera — Their  Geological  Importance  —  Phosphorescence 
of  the  Sea — The  Noctiluca  Miliaris  —  Polycystina — Infusoria  —  Vorticellas  — 
Ophrydinse — Eapid  Multiplication  of  the  Infusoria  .  .  .101 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK  XV. 

SPONGES. 

Animal  Nature  of  Sponges — Their  remarkable  Structure — Their  Skeleton — Spicula 
— Sensibility  and  Spontaneous  Movements — Their  Mode  of  Propagation — Their 
Importance  in  the  Household  of  the  Seas  .  .  v  ,  .  .  PAGE  112 

CHAPTEK  XVI. 

SEA-ANEMONES   AND    LITHOPHYTES. 

Submarine  Gardens — Internal  Structure  of  the  Sea-anemones  —  Tentacles — 
Urticating  Organs  —  Their  remarkable  Tenacity  of  Life — Their  Modes  of 
Locomotion— Lithophytes — Social  Eepublicans — Coral  Islands  ,  .116 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

ACALEPEUE    OR    JELLY-FISHES. 

Medusae  and  Ehizostomata — Their  Internal  Structure — Their  Mode  of  Progression — 
Alternation  of  Generations — Ciliograde  Jelly-fishes — Their  Wonderful  Fishing 
Apparatus — Diphyes — Agalma — Physalus — Velella — Importance  of  the  Acale- 
phae  in  the  Economy  of  the  Ocean  $"•  .  ,  .  .  125 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ECHINODERMATA. 

Primeval  Sea-stars — Feather-stars — Snake-stars — Star-fishes — Their  Suckers  and 
Mode  of  Locomotion — Their  Skeleton — Their  Victims  and  their  Enemies — Sea- 
Urchins — Structure  of  their  Shell — Their  Dental  Apparatus — Pedicellarise,  or 
Sea-Cucumbers — Metamorphoses  of  the  Echinodermata  .  .  .132 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

MOLLUSCA. 

The  Flustrse  or  Sea-Mats— Aviculari  a— Metamorphoses  of  the  Flustrse — Salpae 
and  Ascidise — Botrylli— Pyrosomata — Bivalve  Shellfish— Free  and  Sessile — 
The  Byssus — The  File  of  the  Pholades — Respiration  of  the  Bivalve  Shellfish — 
Their  Nourishment — Snails — Their  Masticatory  Apparatus — Their  Cautious 
Habits — Pteropods — Conical  Appendages  of  the  Clio's  Head — Its  wonderful 
Dental  Apparatus  —  Cuttlefish— Sucking-disks  —  The  Onychoteuthis  —  Number 
and  Importance  of  the  Molluscs  .  .141 

CHAPTER  XX. 

WORMS. 

Are  they  in  reality  so  helpless  as  is  commonly  supposed  ? — Beauty  of  the  Free 
Marine  Annelides — Their  Mode  of  Life — Tubicolar  Worms — Leeches — Earth- 
worms  Nemerta  Gigantea — Rotifera — Their  Complex  Organisation  and  their 

Habits  166 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

CRUSTACEANS. 

Cirripedes  —  Barnacles  and  Acorn-shells  —  Edriophthalmia  —  Decapoda  —  Their 
Branchial  Apparatus — Legs  and  Digestive  Organs— Moulting  Process — Meta- 
morphoses— Enemies  of  the  Crustaceans — Means  of  Defence,  and  Offensive 
Weapons — The  Birgus — Pinnotheres — Paguri — Migratory  Instinct  of  the  Land- 
crabs  ........  PAGE  175 

CHAPTER  XXII. 


Their  Integuments — Their  Metamorphoses — Larvse — Pupse — Perfect  Insects — An- 
tennae— Eyes — Masticatory  Organs — Chewing  and  Sucking  Insects — Digestive 
Organs  of  the  Carnivorous  and  Herbivorous  Insects — Motions  of  Insects — 
Elateridse — Aquatic  Insects — Foot  of  the  Fly — Wings — Respiratory  Organs- 
Tracheae  and  Stigmata — The  Butterfly's  Wing  under  the  Microscope — Defences 
of  Insects— Vitality — Concealments — The  Caddice  Fly — The  small  Ermine  Moth 
— The  Clothes  Moth — Hunting  Manoeuvres  of  the  Mantis — The  Ant-Lion — The 
Larva  of  the  Tiger  Beetle — Insect  Plagues — Insects  Useful  to  Man — -Their 
Numberless  Enemies — Their  Wonderful  Instincts — Care  for  their  Young — The 
Rhynchites  Betulse — Dung  and  Sexton  Beetles— Their  Remarkable  Intelli- 
gence— The  Sand  Wasp — Ichneumon  Flies — Breeze  Flies — The  Earwig— The 
Mole  Cricket— The  Dirt  Dauber  and  Trypoxylon  —  The  Leaf-cutters  —  The 
Carpenter  Bee— The  Chartergus  Nidulans— The  Hive  Bee — The  Ants  and  Ter- 
mites 189 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SPIDERS. 

Venomous  Apparatus — Spinnarets — The  Spider's  Web— Patience  of  the  Spiders — 
Hunting  Spiders  —  Trap-door  Spiders  —  Water  Spiders  —  The  Raft  Spider — 
Enemies  of  the  Spiders  —  Their  Fecundity — Their  Maternal  Affection  —  Th<> 
Stalita  Turn  aria  .  .  .  .  ...»  .  .  -  .  !23o 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FISHES. 

The  Waters  a  Scene  of  constant  War — Fecundity  of  Fishes  necessary  to  maintain 
the  Equilibrium — Migrations  of  the  Salmon — Means  of  Defence  and  Attack — 
The  Dragon  Weever— The  Acanthurus— The  Catfish— The  Sting-ray— Dental 
Apparatus  of  Fishes — Teeth  of  the  Lamprey  andScari — The  Sawfish — Electrical 
Fish — Fins — Air-bladders — Gills — Respiratory  Apparatus  of  the  Lamprey  and 
Hag — of  the  Frogfish  and  Hassar — The  Star-gazer — The  Angler — The  Ros- 
trated Chsetodon — The  Senses  of  Fishes — Beautiful  Construction  of  their  Eye — 
Care  of  the  Stickleback  for  its  Young — Parental  Solicitude  of  the  Black  Goby 
and  of  the  Hassar  .•  .  .  .  .  247 


XIV  CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

REPTILES. 

Defences  of  the  Chelonians,  Lizards,  Frogs,  and  Toads — Locomotion  of  Serpents — 
Legs  of  the  Tortoise  and  Turtle — The  Gecko's  Foot — The  Chameleon— The 
Viper's  Fang — How  Serpents  swallow  their  Food — Tongue  of  the  Chameleon  and 
of  the  Crocodile — Vertebral  Teeth  of  the  Deirodon — Maternal  Affection  of  the 
Cayman  —  Hybernation  —  Usefulness  of  Reptiles  —  Their  Enemies  and  their 
Fecundity  ........  PAGE  268 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 


Their  Wings  and  Rapidity  of  Flight— Quill-feathers— Wings  of  the  Ostrich  and 
the  Penguin — Feathers — Rump-gland — Legs  of  Birds — Waders — Swimmers — 
Raptorial  Birds — Perchers — Beaks  of  Birds — Black-skimmer — Boatbill — Spoon- 
bill— Crossbill — The  Flamingo's  and  the  Toucan's  Tongue — Digestive  Apparatus 
of  the  Birds — Strength  of  Vision — Services  of  Birds — Nests  of  Birds — The 
Sand-martin  — The  Woodpecker — The  Chaffinch  —  The  Cassique — The  Balti- 
more Oriole— Weaver-birds — The  Baya— The  Social  Grosbeak  — The  Tailor- 
bird— The  Tallegalla— The  Sea-lark  — Heroism  of  Birds  in  defending  their 
Young — The  Lammergeier — Artifices  of  the  Lapwing  and  Ostrich — Memory  and 
Intelligence  of  Birds — Migratory  Instinct  .  .  .  .286 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

MAMMALIA. 

Modifications  in  the  Structure  of  the  Limbs  of  Mammalia — Fins  of  the  Whale,  Walrus, 
and  Seals — Wings  of  the  Bat— The  Nycteris — The  Flying  Squirrel — Shovels  of 
the  Mole — Limbs  of  the  Cervine  and  Bovine  Races — The  colossal  Pillars  of  the 
Elephant— The  Hare — The  Jumping  Hare— The  Kangaroo— The  Sloth — Mon- 
keys— Leaps  of  the  Wanderoo — The  Squirrels — Soles  and  Toes — Sole-pads  of 
the  Camel — Prehensile  Tail  of  the  American  Monkeys  and  other  Quadrupeds — 
Tail  of  the  Aquatic  Mammalia,  of  the  American  Ant-Bear,  of  the  Kangaroo  and 
Pengolin — Masticatory  Organs — Teeth  of  the  Carnivora,  the  Ruminantia,  and  the 
Rodents— The  Baleen  of  the  Whale— The  Ant-eater's  Tongue — The  Stomach  of 
the  Ruminants — The  Camel's  Paunch — Water-pouches  of  the  Elephant — Cheek- 
pouches  of  the  Hamster — Senses  of  the  Mammalia — The  Elephant's  Proboscis — 
Defensive  and  Aggressive  Weapons  of  Mammalia — Burrows  of  the  Prairie  Dog— 
The  Hamster's  Cave — Habitations  of  the  Beaver  and  the  Musquash — The  Mole 
and  the  Australian  Duckbill — The  Armadillo  and  the  Hedgehog — The  Porcu- 
pine -The  Skunk — Gregarious  Quadrupeds — Guards — Bird-guardians  of  the 
Rhinoceros  and  the  African  Buffalo — Friendships  of  Animals — The  Tiger  and  the 
Dog — Attachment  of  Domestic  Animals  to  Man — Parental  Affection — Pouch  of 
the  Opossum  and  Kangaroo — Services  of  the  Quadrupeds — Sagacity  of  the  Dog, 
the  Horse,  the  Monkey,  and  the  Elephant  —  Hybernation  —  Happiness  of 
the  Wild  Mammalia  .  .  .  .  .  .  .317 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

MAN. 

Pre-eminence  of  Man — His  Greatness  and  his  Weakness — The  Brain  of  Man — The 
Telegraphic  System  of  the  Nerves — The  Optic  Nerve — The  Organs  of  Hearing, 
Taste,  Smelling,  and  Touch — Spinal  Nerves  —  Motile  Nerves — Sympathetic 
Nerves — The  Human  Hand — Its  Harmony  with  the  Intellectual  Faculties  of 
Man — Differences  in  the  Limbs  of  the  Ape  and  Man— Man's  Upright  Walk — 
His  Privileges  and  his  Duties  .  ,  .  .  .  PAGE  382 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 
Acalephse  or  jelly-fishes : — 

Agalma  Okenii  .  .  .129 
Cydippe  .  .  .  .128 
Diphyes  Campanulifera  .  129 
Medusa  .  .128 

Physalus  utriculus       .         .130 
Khizostoma          .         .         .126 
Velella  septentrionalis  .         .131 
Birds  :— 

Baya  sparrow,  nest  of  the  .  308 
BoatbiU,  beak  of  the  .  .  296 
Crow,  beak  of  a  .  "  .  294 

Falcon,  head  of  a  .  .  293 
Flamingo,  bill  of  the  .  .  297 
Fowl,  digestive  apparatus  of 

common  .         .         .     299 

Guinea  fowl,  beak  of  a         .     294 
Humming  bird,  beak  of  the  .     294 
Ibis,  head  and  leg  of    .         .     291 
Lammergeier     attacking     a 
Steinbock         .         frontispiece 

This  engraving  represents 
an  attack  made  in  the  year 
1 685,  on  the  Cirx  Berg  in  the 
Tyrol,  near  the  Martins 
Wand,  by  a  Lammergeier  of 
great  size  on  a  full-grown 
Steinbock.  Whilst  the  lat- 
ter was  standing  near  the 
edge  of  a  precipitous  rock, 
the  Lammergeier  pushed  him 
down  a  depth  of  180  feet, 
breaking  his  neck  by  the 
fall.  The  bird  was  shot 
whilst  in  the  act  of  devour- 
ing his  prey. 

Loxia  curvirostra         .  297 

Pelican,  foot  of  the      .  292 

„        beak  of  the     .  293 

Percher,  foot  of  a         .  293 

Eecurvirostra  Avocetta  296 

Sand-martin's  nest       .  303 

Skimmer,  bill  of  the     .  295 

Spoonbill,  beak  of  the  296 

Swan,  gizzard  of  a        .  299 


PAGE 

Birds  —  continued. 

Tailor  bird  and  its  nest  .  309 
Talons  of  a  bird  of  prey  .  292 
Toucan,  tongue  of  the  .  298 

Woodpecker,  foot  of  the        .     292 
„  cranium      and 

tongue  of  the     298 
„  nest  of  the       .     304 

Crustaceans :  — 

Acorn-shell  .         .175 

Barnacles  .         .     175 

Cirrhi  .  .176 

Crab,  larva  of  .        .182 

Sandhopper  .        .177 

Sponge  crab  .         .185 

Whale-louse  .         .179 

Echinodermata : — 

Asterias  rubens  .        .134 

,,          section  of  a  ray  of    135 

Echinus,  or  sea-urchin    *     .     137 

Pedicellarise          .         .         .138 

Sand-star  .         .         .133 

Warted  Euryale  .        .     133 

Fishes  :— 

Cod,  eye  of          ...     265 
Dental  apparatus  of  shark    .     252 
„  ,,         of  lamprey     253 

„  „          of  Scarus 

muricatus    253 

„  „          of  sawfish.     254 

Electric  eel,  capture  of  the 

to  face    256 

Frogfish  .  .  .  .262 
Lophius  piscatorius  .  .263 
Ostracion  ....  250 
Perch,  skeleton  of  the  .  .  257 
Respiratory  apparatus  of  the 

lamprey   .         .         .         .260 

Sawfish,  rostrum  of      .         .     254 

Spine  of  the  Siluridse  .        .251 

Torpedo,  muscles  and  electric 

batteries  of      .  ,     253 


XV111 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Fishes  —  continued. 

Toxotes  jaculator          .  .     263 

Trachinus  Draco           .  .251 

Insects : — 

Alimentary  canal  of  tiger 

beetle             .  .196 
„     of  cockchafer  197 
Apple-moth,  with  caterpillar 

and  chrysalis    .         .  .191 

Ateuchus  sacer     .         .  .221 

Boat-fly       ...        .  .200 

Caddice-worms     .         .  .     209 

Calandra  longipes         .  .     220 
Calosoma  sycophanta,  larva  of  191 

Carpenter  bee      .         .  .     228 
Chartergus  nidulans,  nest  of     230 

Elater  noctilucus          .  .199 

Ermine  moths      .         .  .210 

Eyes  of  insects     .         .  .194 

Feet  of  flies          .         .  .201 

Fungus  ant,  nest  of     .  .     232 

Gryllotalpa  vulgaris     .  .     198 

Hawk  moth,  caterpillar  of  .     208 

Hornet,  larva  of  .        .  .191 

„       pupa  state  of    .  .     192 

„       perfect  insect  .  .     192 

Hydrometra  stagnorum.  .     201 

Lappet-moth         .         .  .     205 

caterpillar  of  .     207 

Mantis  religiosa  .         .  .212 

Necrophorus  Vespillo   .  .221 
Nests  of  the  Trypoxylon  and 

Pelopseus          .         .  .226 

Peacock  butterfly          .  .     206 

Pimpla  persuasoria       .  .223 

Eaft  spider           .         .  .243 

-  Eed  Admiral  butterfly  .     206 
Spiders'  spinnarets     226,  238,  239 
Spiracle  of  common  fly  .203 
Springtail    .         .         .  .199 
Tiger-beetle          .         .  .198 
Termites,  mounds  of  the  .     234 
Tortoise-beetle     .         .  .198 

-  Walking-leaf  insect      .  .     206 
Wasp's  nest          .         .  .229 

.  Water-beetle         .         .  .200 
Water-scorpion,  tracheal 

system  of         ./..      .  .     202 

Water-spiders      .        .  .241 

Whirligig     .         .         .  .200 
Mammalia : — 

Ant-eater,  head  of  the  .     339 

Balsena  Mysticetus,  bones  of 

the  anterior  fin.  of  the  .318 

Bear,  dentition  of  the  .  .     340 
Camel,  water-cells  in  stomach 

of  the       ,        f        .  .     347 

Cat,  dentition  of  the     .  .341 

Cercoleptes  caudi volvulus  .     335 

Deer,  skeleton  of  the    .  .     326 

Dipus  sagitta       .        .  .329 


PAGE 

Mammalia  —  continued. 

Duckbill,  burrow  of  the  .  367 
Elephant,  stomach  of  .  .  348 
Hare,  skeleton  of  the  .  .  328 
Kangaroo,  hunting  the  to  face  352 
Lion,  skeleton  of  .  .355 
Mole,  skeleton  of  the  .  .  325 
Mules  striking  off  the  spines 

of  the  melon-cactus  to  face  68 
Pengolin  .  .  .  .337 
Pteropus,  skeleton  of  .  .  321 
Pthinolophus  ...  ,  .  354 
Rhinoceros  .  .  .361 

„  and    its    bird- 

guardian  .  to  face  371 
Rodent,  dentition  of  a  .  342 
Seals  catching  fish  to  face  319 
Seal,  skeleton  of  .  .319 

„     hinder  extremities  of  .     319 
„     dentition  of         .         .     342 
Sheep,  skull  of     .         .         .343 
„       base  of  cranium  of    .     343 
„      lower  jaw          .         .     343 
„       composite  stomach  of     345 
Sloth,  skeleton  of  the  .         .     329 
„      hand  of  the         .         .     333 
Spalax  typhlus     .         .         .     351 
Squirrel,  flying     .         .         .     324 
Walruses  defending  their 

young  .        to  face    370 

Walrus,  tusks  of  .        .     344 

Man : — 

Acoustic  nerve,  expansion  of 

the  .        .        .        .385 

Skull,  human        .        .         .390 

„     of  an  Ourang-cetan      .     391 

Spinal  nerve,  origin  of  a       .     387 

Mollusca : — 

Ascidia  mammillata  .  .145 
Botryllus  violaceus  .  .146 
Byssus,  filament  of  a  .  .  150 
Cellularia  ....  144 
Clio,  prehensile  organs  of,  160, 161 
Common  cockle  .  .  .150 
Eolis  .  .  .  .157 

Flustra,  in  its  cell  .  .  142 
Gasteropoda,  digestive  appa- 
ratus of  .  .  .  .  158 
Glaucus  .  ..  .-  ,  157 
Hyalea  Globulosa  .  .159 
Leaf -like  sea-mat  .  .142 
Onychoteuthis,  arms  and  ten- 
tacles of  an  .  .  .163 
Pholades,  respiration  of  .  151 
Poulp,  arm  and  suckers  of  a  162 
Razor-shell  .  .153 

Salpae  .  .     147 

Scyllsea        .  .     157 

Sepia  .         .  .     162 

Plants,  leaves  of  "  :."  "  73 

Desmidiacese  98 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


XIX 


Plants  — continued. 

Diatomacese 

Microscopical  forms  of  vege- 
table life 
.  Pollen-grains 

Volvox  globator  . 
Protozoa : — 

Amoaba 

Infusoria 

Leucophrys  patula 

Noctiluca  miliaris 

Ophrydium  versatile 

Polycystina .         . 

Kotalia  ornata 


98 

94 
80 

97 


101,  102 
.  107 
.  108 
.  105 
.  109 
.  106 
.  103 
.  112 

Stent'or  Rceselii     .         .         .     106 
Vorticella  cyathina        .         .108 
Reptiles  :— 

Chameleo  Africanus      .         .273 

„  „        tongue  of    275 

Gecko's  toe  .         .         .273 

Iguana  defending  itself  from 

the  Jaguar  to  face    274 


Reptiles  —  continued. 

Serpent,  poison  teeth  of 

Tortoise,  internal  surface 

carapace  of 
Sea-anemones  and  lithophytes : 

Actinia  alcyonoidea 

Alcyonidium  elegans    . 

Gorgonia  nobilis 

Pennatula  grisca 

Urticating  organs 
Sponges : — 

Halichondria 

Halina  papillaris 
Worms : — 

Foot  of  an  annelide 

Hirudo  medicinalis 

Nereis 

Philodina  roseola 

Ptygura  melicerta 

Sabella  unispirata 
„       alveolaria 

Serpula  contortuplicata 

Terebella  conchilega    . 


of 


277 
269 

117 
120 
121 
120 
118 

121 
113 

167 

169 
166 
173 
172 
168 
168 
168 
168 


ERRATA. 

Page  27,  chapter  head,  for  Ravines  read  Lavines. 
,     43,  line  1,  for  first  read  firs. 


THE 


HARMONIES  OF    NATURE, 

CHAPTEE   I. 

THE    STARRY   HEAVENS. 

The  Setting  Sun — The  Splendour,  of  the  Starry  Vault — The  First  Step  to  Astrono- 
mical Science — The  Planetary  System — How  have  we  learnt  to  Measure  its 
Dimensions  ? —  Copernicus— Kepler— Newton — Laplace— The  Planetary  Per- 
turbations reduced  to  Harmony — Discovery  of  Neptune  by  Calculation — Shooting 
Stars  and  Meteoric  Stones  —Their  Composition — Spectral  Analysis  of  the  Sun's 
Atmosphere  by  Kirchhof  and  Bunsen — A  Glimpse  into  the  Fixed  Star  Heavens 
— Enormous  Distances  of  the  nearest  Fixed  Stars — Our  "World-Island — Nebulae 
— Motions  of  the  Fixed  Stars — Vast  Prospects  into  Space  and  Time — The  Uni- 
versal Harmony  of  Worlds. 

THE  SUN  rests  on  the  brink  of  the  western  horizon,  sparkling 
over  the  ever-restless  surface  of  the  ocean.  Dazzled  by  the 
excess  of  light,  I  turn  my  eyes  from  his  brilliant  orb  and  look 
down  upon  the  strand  at  my  feet,  where  the  indefatigable  tide- 
wave  rolls  upwards  in  broad  sheets  of  foam,  and  then  again  falls 
back  in  a  thousand  little  rills  and  with  a  thousand  delightful 
murmurs. 

My  eye  has  rested,  and  once  more  wishes  to  enjoy  the  aspect 
of  the  setting  sun  ;  but  the  fiery  globe  has  already  sunk  below 
the  margin  of  the  waters,  to  cast  its  streams  of  light  over  other 
lands  and  seas — to  awaken  millions  to  the  labours  and  enjoyments 
of  a  new-born  day.  A  gorgeous  canopy  of  clouds,  glowing  in 
every  tint  of  gold,  scarlet,  and  purple  over  the  evening  sky,  alone 
remains  to  bear  witness  to  the  vanished  sun's  magnificence — as 
after  the  death  of  a  hero  the  memory  of  his  deeds  still  lingers 


2  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

behind  in  many  a  glorious  tradition,  and  spreads  a  halo  over  his 
tomb. 

At  length  even  the  last  faint  glimmerings  of  light  have 
disappeared ;  night  has  fully  vanquished  day,  and  an  increasing 
gloom  seems  about  to  cover  all  nature  with  a  funereal  pall.  But 
this  triumph  of  death  is  only  apparent  and  of  short  duration,  for 
as  the  darkness  deepens,  new  worlds  blaze  forth  from  the  dark 
heavens,  and  open  the  portals  of  the  Infinite  to  our  astonished 
gaze.  Thus  night,  far  from  contracting  our  horizon,  withdraws 
in  reality  the  veil  which  hid  from  us  the  wonders  of  a  boundless 
universe. 

Who  can  describe  the  splendour  of  the  starry  heavens  ?  With 
vivid  colours  the  painter  imitates  the  blushing  morn  or  the 
moonbeam  dancing  on  the  lake ;  the  forest,  the  sea,  the  moun- 
tains appear  on  his  canvas  like  reality  itself;  but  the  wonders 
of  the  starry  heavens  mock  the  weakness  of  his  art,  for  how 
could  he  confine  the  boundless  fields  of  ether  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  a  painting  ?  * 

In  all  times,  in  all  zones,  the  aspect  of  the  nocturnal  firma- 
ment has  awakened  feelings  of  pious  awe  in  the  breast  of  man ; 
and  surely  the  idea  of  a  single  and  omnipotent  God  first  dawned 
in  his  soul  while  his  eye  was  plunging  into  the  depths  of  the 
skies,  and  star  after  star  shone  down  upon  him  from  that 
amazing  dome  whose  cupola  is  everywhere  extended  and  whose 
pillars  are  nowhere  to  be  found  ? 

The  beauties  of  Nature  are  unequally  distributed  over  the 
surface  of  our  earth ;  some  lands  are  gifted  with  all  that  can  en- 
chant the  eye,  while  others  are  scenes  of  barren  desolation  :  but 
the  starry  heavens  are  equally  magnificent  at  the  equator  and  at 
the  poles,  and  wherever  man  exists  their  splendour  is  open  to 
his  gaze.  But  how  many  centuries  may  have  elapsed  before  he 
first  raised  himself  from  the  admiring  contemplation  of  this 
august  spectacle  to  a  more  attentive  observation  of  its  mecha- 
nism— before  he  first  attempted  to  measure  the  orbits  or  to 
calculate  the  size  of  the  celestial  spheres  ! 

The  first  step  to  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  the  starry 
heavens  was  to  ascertain  the  form  and  size  of  our  earth,  for  it 
was  thus  only  that  a  measure  could  be  gained  for  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  planetary  system,  a  solid  basis  for  the  future  deve- 
lopment of  astronomical  science. 


EISE    OF   ASTRONOMICAL    SCIENCE.  3 

History  teaches  us  that  this  first  step  was  taken  by  the 
Greeks,  who,  judging  from  the  facts  that  a  vessel  when  coming 
from  sea  into  port  first  shows  the  tops  of  her  masts,  and  then 
seems  to  rise  higher  and  higher  out  of  the  water  as  she 
approaches,  that  the  sun  rises  later  and  later  as  we  travel  from 
east  to  west,  and  that  the  shadow  of  the  earth,  which  appears 
during  lunar  eclipses  on  the  surface  of  the  moon,  always  shows  a 
circular  form,  proclaimed  its  spherical  shape,  and  even  made  the 
first  attempts  to  measure  its  size. 

But  as  their  geographical  knowledge  was  very  limited,  and  their 
instruments  of  measurement  imperfect,  their  calculations  could 
not  but  be  extremely  defective ;  and  thus  it  was  reserved  for 
later  times  to  ascertain  that  the  earth  is  a  globe  flattened  at 
the  pole,  with  an  equatorial  diameter  of  6,864,  and  a  polar 
diameter  of  6,852,  geographical  miles. 

The  dimeDsions  of  the  earth  being  thus  known,  it  was  now  a 
comparatively  easy  task  to  measure  the  distances  of  the  various 
planets  belonging  to  our  Solar  System  ;  for  the  mathematician 
requires  but  to  know  the  length  of  a  line,  and  the  angles  which 
its  extremities  make  with  a  third  point,  to  obtain  a  full  know- 
ledge of  the  dimensions  of  the  triangle  thus  formed,  and 
consequently  of  the  comparative  distances  of  all  its  parts. 
With  triangles  he  invades  the  celestial  space  and  subjects  them 
to  the  dominion  of  science,  as  surely  as  by  means  of  triangles  he 
measures  the  extent  of  his  fields  or  the  height  of  his  mountains. 

By  this  means  it  has  been  calculated  that  the  moon  is  about 
208,000  geographical  miles  distant  from  the  earth,  while  the  sun 
sends  us  his  enlivening  rays  from  a  distance  of  80,000,000 
miles  :  and  thus  we  know  that  while  torrid  Mercury,  the  planet 
nearest  to  the  sun,  revolves  at  a  distance  of  32,000,000  miles 
from  his  orb,  frigid  Neptune  receives  his  scanty  supply  of 
warmth  and  light  from  the  amazing  distance  of  2,800,000,000 
miles ! 

According  to  the  delusive  testimony  of  our  eyesight,  the  sun 
and  all  the  planets  move  round  our  earth,  as  if  it  were  the 
centre  of  the  universe.  We  see  the  sun  and  moon  rise  and  set, 
and  the  stellar  canopy  slowly  revolving  round  the  Polar  Star. 
But  we  seem  to  repose  in  majestic  immobility,  and  thus  it  ap- 
pears as  if  all  those  luminous  worlds  acknowledged  the  supre- 
macy of  our  globe  and  paid  homage  to  its  superior  power. 

B  2 


4  THE    HAEMONIES   OF   NATURE, 

For  thousands  of  years  Science  itself  remained  enthralled  by 
these  delusive  appearances,  until  at  length  the  master-mind  of 
Copernicus  reduced  our  planet  to  the  rank  of  an  humble  follower 
of  that  sun  which  it  had  so  long  appeared  to  rule. 

This  great  man  first  convincingly  proved  that  the  sun  does 
not  revolve  round  the  earth,  but  that  we  and  all  the  planets  cir- 
cle round  the  sun ;  and  that  the  earth,  by  turning  on  her  axis 
every  twenty-four  hours  from  west  to  east,  produces  that 
apparent  movement  of  the  starry  heavens  from  east  to  west 
which  had  deceived  all  previous  astronomers.  Where  formerly 
darkness  and  error  prevailed,  and  the  most  ingenious  and  com- 
plicated hypotheses  had  been  unable  to  explain  the  intricate 
motions  of  the  planets,  the  mystery  was  now  solved  at  once  in 
the  clearest  and  most  simple  manner. 

Building  still  further  on  the  Copernican  system,  the  illus- 
trious Kepler  next  showed  that  the  planets  do  not  move  in  cir- 
cles but  in  ellipses  round  the  sun,  and  discovered  the  laws  which 
regulate  the  swiftness  and  proportions  of  their  orbits.  Twelve 
years  after  this  great  man's  death  our  immortal  Newton  was 
born,  who  proved  that  the  movements  of  all  the  celestial  bodies 
flow  from  the  supreme  law  of  universal  gravitation,  or  the 
mutual  attraction  of  bodies  according  to  the  proportion  of  their 
masses  and  distances. 

By  means  of  this  fundamental  law — which  regulates  the  move- 
ments of  the  stars  as  well  as  the  fall  of  terrestrial  bodies,  the 
course  of  waters,  the  motions  of  the  pendulum,  and  the  direction 
of  the  load-line — it  was  now  possible  to  solve  many  most  diffi- 
cult problems,  which  until  then  had  baffled  the  sagacity  of  the 
greatest  mathematicians  and  astronomers,  to  explain  the  pre- 
cession of  the  equinoxes,  to  determine  the  weight  and  the 
masses  of  the  various  bodies  of  the  solar  system,  and  finally  to 
calculate  the  perturbations  resulting  from  the  mutual  attrac- 
tions of  the  planets. 

The  word  perturbation  might  possibly  lead  us  to  fear,  that  at 
a  period  however  remote  the  laws  which  maintain  the  planets  in 
their  course  might  ultimately  be  overcome  by  counteracting 
forces,  and  an  irreparable  catastrophe  be  the  consequence ;  but 
the  calculations  of  Laplace  have  proved  that  all  alarms  on  this 
subject  are  perfectly  groundless,  for  the  planetary  perturbations 
are  as  subject  to  eternal  laws  as  all  the  other  motions  of  the 


EISE    OF    ASTRONOMICAL    SCIENCE.  5 

heavenly  bodies ;  they  never  exceed  a  certain  limit,  they  mu- 
tually correct  each  other,  and  cannot  possibly  become  dangerous. 
Tims,  by  an  admirable  mechanism  worthy  of  the  Supreme  Archi- 
tect of  worlds,  even  the  deviations  of  the  planets  contribute 
to  the  eternal  harmony  of  the  spheres. 

When  Herschel  discovered  Uranus,  that  dim  planet,  which  re- 
ceives the  faint  rays  of  the  sun  from  a  distance  of  1,600,000,000 
geographical  miles,  it  was  supposed  that  the  utmost  limits 
of  our  solar  system  had  been  attained,  and  that  beyond  must 
begin  the  vast  solitudes  which  separate  the  dominions  of  our 
sun  from  those  of  the  nearest  fixed  star.  But  Uranus  showed 
perturbations  in  his  path,  which  could  not  be  accounted  for  by 
the  attraction  of  Saturn,  and  could  therefore  only  be  ascribed 
to  an  unknown  planet.  The  calculations  of  Le  Verrier  deter- 
mined the  position  and  the  mass  of  this  new  celestial  body ; 
and  scarcely  had  he  pointed  out  the  spot  where,  according  to 
all  probability,  it  must  be  revolving  through  space,  than  the 
telescope  of  the  Berlin  astronomer  Gralle  verified  the  accuracy  of 
his  statements,  and  discovered  Neptune,  circulating  as  a  star  of 
the  eighth  magnitude,  2,800,000,000  miles  from  the  sun. 

Truly  a  splendid  triumph  of  mathematical  science,  a  mag- 
nificent victory  of  the  human  mind,  thus  to  calculate  the  ex- 
istence of  an  unknown  world,  and  to  see,  as  it  were  by  the 
light  of  reason,  what  no  human  eye  had  ever  beheld ! 

Possibly  other  planets  may  still  roll  beyond  Neptune,  which 
perhaps  no  telescope  will  ever  be  able  to  detect ;  but  from  the 
perturbations  they  may  cause,  their  existence  will  be  as  evident 
as  if  we  could  follow  them  on  their  lustrous  path. 

Besides  the  planets  and  moons  and  numerous  comets,  a  vast 
number  of  smaller  planetary  bodies,  partly  disseminated,  partly 
grouped  in  annular  zones,  revolve  on  elliptic  orbits  round  the 
sun.  When  these  small  planetary  bodies  come  within  the 
sphere  of  the  earth's  attraction,  they  obey  its  influence,  and, 
darting  down,  give  rise  to  the  phenomena  of  shooting-stars 
and  meteoric  stones. 

On  a  bright  night  twenty  minutes  rarely  pass,  at  any  part  of 
the  earth's  surface,  without  the  appearance  of  at  least  one 
meteor.  At  certain  times  (the  12th  of  August  and  the  14th 
of  November,  when  in  all  probability  our  earth  crosses  the 
orbit  of  one  of  those  annular  zones)  they  appear  in  enormous 


6  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

numbers.  During  nine  hours  of  observation  in  Boston,,  when 
they  were  described  as  falling  like  snowflakes,  240,000  meteors 
were  calculated  to  have  been  observed.  The  number  falling  in 
a  year  might  perhaps  be  estimated  at  hundreds  or  thousands 
of  millions,  and  even  these  would  constitute  but  a  small  portion 
of  the  total  crowd  of  asteroids  that  circulate  round  the  sun.  As 
these  bodies,  while  obeying  the  earth's  attraction,  traverse  our 
atmosphere  with  planetary  velocity,  they  would  no  doubt  cause 
a  terrible  bombardment,  and  from  their  vast  numbers  render 
our  planet  absolutely  uninhabitable,  if  their  very  speed  had  not 
been  made  the  means  of  neutralising  their  otherwise  disastrous 
effects  :  for,  raised  to  incandescence  by  the  atmospheric  friction 
engendered  by  this  enormous  velocity  of  from  eighteen  to  thirty- 
six  miles  a  second,  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  aerolithes  are 
dissipated  by  heat,  and  a  small  number  only  reaches  the  surface 
of  the  earth  under  the  solid  form  of  meteoric  stones. 

Interesting  by  their  celestial  origin,  these  masses  are  still 
more  so  as  the  only  tangible  and  ponderable  proofs  we  possess 
of  the  material  existence  of  a  world  beyond  our  own — as  teaching 
us  that  the  substances  of  which  our  earth  is  composed  exist 
also  beyond  its  limits  :  for  the  chemist  finds  the  meteoric  stones 
composed  of  iron,  nickel,  cobalt,  silica,  aluminium,  and  other 
terrestrial  elements,  nor  do  they  contain  a  single  atom  of  any 
substance  that  is  unknown  to  us  on  earth.  This  circumstance 
sufficed  to  render  it  very  probable  that  our  whole  solar  system 
has  been  constructed  of  identical  materials ;  but  the  wonderful 
researches  of  Bunsen  and  Kirchhof  have  raised  probability  to 
certainty,  by  proving  that  sodium,  calcium,  magnesium,  chro- 
mium, iron,  and  other  metals  are  constituents  of  the  solar  at- 
mosphere and  of  the  sun's  central  orb.* 

However  vast  the  scale  of  our  planetary  system,  however  inca- 
pable our  imagination  may  be  to  grasp  its  immensity,  it  still 
forms  but  a  minute  portion  even  of  the  visible  universe ;  for 
how  insignificant  in  point  of  numbers,  size,  and  distance  are  all 
the  satellites  revolving  round  our  sun,  in  comparison  to  the 
countless  hosts  of  the  sidereal  heavens !  So  enormous  are  their 
distances,  that  the  immense  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit,  as 

*  The  reader  will  find  an  excellent  account  of  the  experiments  which  led  to  this 
brilliant  discovery  in  Professor  Tyndall's  admirable  Lectures  on  Heat,  pp.  408-415. 


DISTANCES   OF   THE    FIXED    STARS.  7 

seen  from  them,  is  only  an  indivisible  point ;  and  it  is  only  within 
the  last  few  years  that  instruments  of  a  precision  unknown  to 
former  ages  have  at  length  brought  a  small  number  of  them  with- 
in the  reach  of  human  calculation.  In  these  immense  regions 
of  space  solar  orbits  are  too  small  to  serve  as  a  unity  of 
measure ;  we  are  obliged  to  travel  on  the  wings  of  light,  which 
in  a  second  leaves  200,000  miles  behind,  to  be  able  to  express, 
in  a  few  numbers,  distances  which  exceed  the  utmost  limits 
of  our  conception. 

A  ray  of  light  emitted  from  our  earth  would  require  three 
years  and  a  half  to  reach  the  nearest  fixed  star ;  twenty  years 
long  it  would  have  to  dart  through  the  fields  of  ether  before  it 
reached  Sirius,  and  thirty  years  would  have  to  pass  before  it 
rested  on  the  Polar  Star. 

Thus  the  distances  of  about  thirty  of  the  nearest  fixed  stars  have 
been  measured  ;  but  the  remaining  thousands  which  we  are  able 
to  see  with  the  naked  eye,  and  the  millions  which  the  telescope 
reveals  to  our  gaze,  roll  on  at  such  immense  distances  from 
our  planet,  that  most  probably  no  progress  of  astronomical 
science  will  ever  be  able  to  bridge  over  the  intervening  gulf. 
A  reduction  of  stellar  distances  to  a  smaller  scale  will  enable 
us  to  form  some  faint  idea  of  the  enormous  difficulties  of  their 
calculation,  and  of  the  astonishing  perfection  of  our  instruments. 
Supposing  the  sun  to  be  of  the  size  of  an  orange,  and  placing 
it  in  the  centre  of  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  our  pea-sized  earth 
will  then  be  performing  its  orbit  within  the  circumference  of 
the  dome,  while  Neptune  will  be  moving  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Bank,  and  many  of  the  comets  extending  their  vagrant  excur- 
sions as  far  as  Charing  Cross.  From  these  proportional  distances 
we  may  easily  conceive  how,  the  diameter  of  the  cathedral  dome 
(which  is  here  supposed  to  be  the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit) 
being  known,  it  must  be  comparatively  easy  to  measure  all  the 
angles  necessary  to  calculate  the  distances  of  Neptune  or  any 
other  planet :  but  when  we  come  to  consider  that,  according  to 
the  given  proportions,  the  nearest  fixed  star  would  be  sending  us 
its  light  from  the  vast  distance  of  St.  Petersburg,  then  indeed 
we  must  be  astonished  at  the  perfection  of  the  instruments 
which  from  so  narrow  a  basis  have  been  able  to  measure  the  all- 
but-imperceptible  inclinations  of  the  angles  verging  towards 
that  distant  world. 


8  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

Before  Bessel  made  the  first  successful  attempt  to  determine 
the  distance  of  a  fixed  star,  Sir  John  Herschel  had  already 
taken  the  first  steps  towards  the  conquest  of  the  sidereal  heavens. 
Through  telescopes  of  an  increasing  range,  he  saw  with  their 
growing  power  the  number  of  the  stars  increase  that  presented 
themselves  before  his  field  of  vision,  and  thus  gained  a  measure 
for  the  form  and  the  dimensions  of  the  stellar  system  to  which 
our  sun  with  all  his  satellites  belongs. 

This  amazing  cluster  of  worlds — this  our  ( world-island,'  as 
it  has  been  appropriately  called  by  Humboldt,  consisting 
of  all  the  constellations  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  and  of  the 
unnumbered  stars  that  glimmer  in  the  Milky  Way — is  of  a 
lenticular,  flattened,  oblong,  or  elliptic  form,  and  swims  like 
a  prodigious  archipelago  in  the  unmeasured  realms  of  space. 
We  know  the  immense  distances  that  separate  us  from  the 
nearest  fixed  stars,  and  can  thus  form  a  faint  conception  of  the 
vast  dimensions  of  a  group  composed  (according  to  Herschel)  of 
at  least  twenty  millions  of  self-luminous  stars.  It  has  been 
calculated  that  a  ray  of  light  would  require  at  least  six  thousand 
years  to  measure  it  from  end  to  end,  and  fourteen  hundred 
years  to  traverse  it  in  its  breadth.  But  even  this  amazing 
group  of  stars,  vast  and  colossal  beyond  the  bounds  of  human 
imagination,  forms  but  a  point  in  the  universe,  for  on  all  sides 
similar  clusters  are  seen  looming  out  of  the  depths  of  the  skies  at 
distances  to  which  that  of  Siriusfrom  the  earth  dwindles  down  to 
one  of  our  terrestrial  measures.  Many  of  these  clusters,  which 
are  either  entirely  invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  or  appear  only  as 
nebular  spots  on  the  dark  background  of  the  celestial  vault, 
require  Lord  Rosse's  great  telescope  to  be  dissolved  into  their 
component  stars ;  while  others  resist  even  this  powerful  test, 
and  continue  to  appear  as  specks  of  mere  luminous  matter. 

Hitherto  it  was  supposed  that  the  immensity  of  their 
distances  alone  prevented  them  from  being  dissolved ;  but  the 
true  nature  of  some  of  them  at  least  has  been  fully  established 
by  recent  investigations,  which,  by  extending  Bunsen's  and 
Kirchhof 's  solar  discoveries  into  the  world  of  the  fixed  stars,  have 
not  only  been  able  to  prove  that  the  glowing  atmosphere  of 
Aldebaran,  for  instance,  contains  quicksilver,  and  that  of  Sirius 
antimony,  but  that  many  of  the  nebulae  are  in  reality  but 
immense  gaseous  bodies,  which  we  may  suppose  to  be  new 


MOTION   OF   THE   SOLAR   SYSTEM.  9 

wo.rlds  in  the  course  of  formation — worlds  destined  after  in- 
calculable ages  to  become  the  seat  of  sensitive  and  rational 
beings. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  fixed  stars,  our 
sun  among  the  rest,  were  still  supposed  to  be  immovable,  since, 
as  far  as  our  astronomical  annals  reach,  no  change  has  ever 
been  observed  in  their  mutual  positions ;  but  the  wonderful 
precision  of  our  modern  instruments,  and  the  progress  of  astro- 
nomical observation,  have  taught  us  that  they  by  no  means 
deserve  their  name.  As  we  and  all  our  brother-planets  are 
circling  round  the  sun,  thus  also  the  sun  with  all  his  satellites 
careers  through  space  at  the  rate  of  800,000  miles  a  day; 
but  the  time  of  observation  is  as  yet  too  short  to  be  able  to 
ascertain  the  centre  of  hig  prodigious  orbit.  Similar  motions 
have  been  discovered  in  other  fixed  stars,  and  thus  we  can  hardly 
doubt  that  all  the  spheres  of  our  world-island  are  engaged  in 
constant  motion — nay,  that  our  world-island  itself  revolves  round 
another,  and  that  thus  eternal  motion  pervades  all  the  recesses 
of  the  universe. 

The  enormous  swiftness  of  the  fixed  stars  gives  us  an  over- 
whelming idea  of  the  vast  proportions  of  the  starry  heavens. 
Every  minute  they  leave  several  hundred  miles  behind — every 
minute  we  are  carried  along  with  the  sun  at  the  same  prodigious 
rate  through  the  celestial  regions ;  and  yet  the  starry  firmament 
appears  constantly  unchanged,  as  it  did  to  our  fathers  before  us. 

This  boundless  prospect  into  space  opens  to  us  a  no  less 
boundless  vista  into  time,  for  the  sight  of  the  distant  heavens 
does  not  exhibit  their  present  but  their  past  condition.  The 
rays  of  light  which  bear  witness  to  the  existence  of  these  worlds, 
circling  in  their  unfathomable  depths,  have  many  of  them 
required  millions  of  years  to  reach  our  planet.  Many  of  those 
brilliant  orbs  might  have  become  extinct  ages  ago,  and  yet  their 
rays,  sent  forth  up  to  the  moment  of  their  destruction,  would 
still  announce  their  past  glory  to  countless  worlds.  Thus  with 
every  improvement  of  the  telescope  not  only  the  magnitude,  but 
also  the  age,  of  the  visible  universe  increases ;  and  as  we  dive 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  abysses  of  celestial  space,  we  also 
plunge  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  ocean  of  the  past.  And  if 
we  could  fly  to  those  islands  of  light,  which  even  our  giant 
telescopes  are  scarce  able  to  reveal,  we  still  should  be  only  on 


10  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

the  threshold  of  new  worlds ;  and  how  far  should  we  have  to  fly 
before  we  reached  the  regions  of  formless  void,  if  such  there  be ! 
So  much  is  certain — that  all  we  can  see  is  but  as  a  speck  in  the 
immensity  of  the  creation,  as  our  earth  is  but  a  speck  in  the  solar 
system,  and  the  solar  system  itself  but  an  imperceptible  atom  in 
the  stellar  cluster  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  The  vastness  of  the 
universe  may  well  overpower  the  weakness  of  our  comprehen- 
sion— well  may  we  feel  humbled  to  the  dust  on  comparing  our 
utter  nothingness  with  the  amazing  grandeur  of  the  surrounding 
world ;  but  our  heart  soon  recovers  from  its  depression  at  the 
consoling  reflection,  that  the  same  bounteous  Father  who  in- 
stilled into  us  the  breath  of  life,  maintains  all  this  vast  universe 
in  constant  harmony  and  beauty.  As  the  planets  revolve  in 
regular  orbits  round  the  sun — as  the  comets,  however  far  they 
roam  in  their  erratic  course,  are  yet  obliged,  in  obedience  to  the 
law  of  gravitation,  to  return  to  their  central  orb — as,  within  the 
comparatively  narrow  confines  of  our  solar  system,  the  beautiful 
spectacle  of  order,  regularity,  and  unity  strikes  us  in  every 
detail,  thus  also  we  cannot  possibly  doubt  that  the  same  order, 
the  same  harmony,  the  same  unity  of  plan  pervades  all  the 
unknown  recesses  of  the  universe,  and  that  the  whole  of  the 
amazing  structure  proclaims  in  all  its  parts,  throughout  all  time 
and  space,  the  infinite  power  and  wisdom  of  Grod  ! 


11 


CHAPTEK  II. 

HEAT   AND   LIGHT. 

The  various  Sources  of  Heat — Effects  of  Heat — Dependence  of  Terrestrial  Life  on 
the  actual  Distance  of  the  Earth  from  the  Sun — Relations  of  the  various  Bodies 
to  Heat — The  Prismatic  Colours  —  The  Harmony  between  Colours  and  the 
Human  Mind— What  is  Heat? — What  is  Light?— Importance  of  the  Ethereal 
Spaces  with  regard  to  the  Distribution  of  Heat  and  Light. 

SNOW  covers  the  fields,  the  rivulets  are  ice-bound,  the  wintry 
blast  howls  through  the  leafless  forest,  and  at  an  early  hour  the 
languid  sun  veils  his  weak  rays  behind  the  mists  of  the  western 
horizon.  The  songsters  of  the  groves  are  mute,  the  insect 
tribes  have  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  every 
freeborn  animal  seeks  shelter  in  burrows  or  in  caves. 

Thus  all  nature  seems  to  sink  into  lethargy  and  death — but  a 
wonderful  resurrection  is  at  hand.  The  sun  rises  higher  and 
higher  in  the  skies,  with  every  returning  morn  he  gilds  the 
purple  east  sooner  and  sooner ;  every  afternoon  he  disappears 
later  and  later  to  spread  his  floods  of  light  over  another  hemi- 
sphere— every  day  bears  witness  to  an  increase  of  his  power. 
The  melting  snow  descends  in  a  thousand  rills  from  the  moun- 
tains, and  the  river,  overflowing  his  banks,  rushes  with  all  the 
energy  of  youthful  liberty  through  the  resounding  valley.  All 
the  dormant  germs  of  organic  nature  burst  forth  in  an  endless 
variety  of  forms :  the  naked  forest  clothes  itself  with  a  fresh 
robe  of  verdure,  thousands  of  flowers  enamel  the  fields,  thousands 
of  birds  sing,  and  numberless  insects  buzz  or  dance  in  the  balmy 
air,  and  the  wild  denizens  of  the  woods  wander  through  the 
thickets  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  freedom. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  is  the  wonderful  agent  of  all  these 
various  scenes  of  activity  and  happiness ;  but  the  sun  is 
not  the  only  source  of  heat,  which  may  also  be  developed  in  a 
variety  of  ways  from  all  terrestrial  bodies.  Friction  heats  our 


12  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

iron  tools,  and  savage  nations  usually  make  fire  by  rubbing  two 
pieces  of  wood  against  each  other.  Percussion  and  compression 
likewise  produce  heat.  A  cannon-ball,  on  striking  a  thick  sheet 
of  iron  with  full  force,  will  instantly  raise  its  temperature  to 
red-heat ;  and  on  suddenly  compressing  air  to  about  one-fifth 
of  its  previous  volume  it  will  set  fire  to  cotton.  Electricity, 
chemical  changes,  the  process  of  life,  are  also  generators  of 
heat;  it  rises  out  of  the  craters  of  volcanoes,  or  gushes  in 
thermal  springs  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 

A  very  general  effect  of  heat  is  its  expanding  force.  With 
a  few  remarkable  exceptions,  it  universally  appears  as  the  mighty 
opponent  of  cohesion,  as  the  adversary  of  terrestrial  attraction. 
First  it  increases  the  volume  of  solid  bodies,  then  it  reduces 
them  into  a  liquid  state,  and  finally  converts  them  into  gases — 
a  phenomenon  which  no  other  agent  is  capable  of  producing. 
Hence  the  state  of  cohesion  of  all  bodies  solely  depends  upon 
their  temperature.  Placed  at  a  different  distance  from  the  sun, 
our  earth  would  offer  a  very  different  aspect :  if  considerably 
nearer,  enormous  quantities  of  water  would  constantly  be  vola- 
tilised, and  then  again  precipitated  in  terrific  showers ;  if  far 
removed,  the  sea  itself  would  be  converted  into  a  solid  body, 
and  the  circulation  of  fluids,  the  prime  agent  of  vegetable 
and  animal  life,  be  arrested.  Thus  our  existence  depends 
upon  the  degree  of  heat  resulting  from  the  actual  distance 
of  our  planets  from  the  sun ;  and  as  we  cannot  possibly  attri- 
bute our  origin  to  chance,  thus  also  it  is  surely  not  this  blind 
capricious  power,  but  the  allwise  providence  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  which,  myriads  of  years  before  the  breath  of  life  was 
instilled  into  man,  determined  the  distance  of  the  earth  from 
the  sun,  that  it  might  one  day  become  his  residence. 

If,  as  is  by  no  means  improbable,  Mercury  and  Venus  or 
Jupiter  and  Saturn  are  the  abodes  of  rational  beings,  these  must 
inevitably  be  very  differently  formed  from  us,  as  they  dwell 
on  planets  where  all  the  conditions  of  organic  life  are  so  totally 
different ;  but  as  harmony  reigns  everywhere  on  earth,  we  cannot 
doubt  that,  whatever  their  form,  they  will  in  every  respect  be  as 
perfectly  adapted  to  their  various  abodes  as  we  to  our  terrestrial 
habitation. 

With  respect  to  their  relations  to  heat,  we  find  a  remarkable 
difference  in  various  substances  or  bodies.  Some  change  their 


COMPOSITION   OF    LIGHT.  13 

temperature  with  great  rapidity,  others  but  slowly  ;  some  are 
good,  others  bad  radiators  of  heat;  some  absorb  it  greedily, 
others  allow  it  to  pass  freely  through  their  molecular  tissues. 
Thus  the  sun  brings  forth  an  infinite  variety  of  actions  and 
reactions  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  for  the  atmosphere,  the 
waters,  the  solid  parts  of  our  globe  are  all  variously  affected 
by  his  rays ;  and  as  all  bodies  are  constantly  endeavouring  to 
equalise  their  temperatures,  it  may  easily  be  imagined  what 
numberless  interchanges  of  heat  are  constantly  taking  place 
in  all  directions  over  the  surface  of  the  globe.  But  from  these 
perpetual  oscillations,  from  this  restless  striving  towards  a 
uniformity  of  temperature  which  can  never  be  obtained  (for  not 
a  cloud  passes,  not  a  sunbeam  falls,  without  creating  some 
new  disturbance),  arises  that  magnificent  harmony  between 
organic  life  and  the  external  world  of  air,  water,  and  earth, 
which  can  only  have  resulted  from  the  design  of  a  supreme 
regulator. 

If  a  beam  of  pure  white  light,  admitted  through  a  small  hole 
in  a  window-shutter  into  a  darkened  room,  be  made  to  pass 
through  a  triangular  prism  of  glass,  it  will  be  disentangled 
and  reduced  into  a  number  of  splendid  colours,  similar  to 
those  exhibited  by  the  rainbow  in  all  its  beautiful  gradations 
of  red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  indigo,  and  violet.  These 
primitive  tints,  which  are  also  called  elementary  or  simple 
colours,  as  they  are  incapable  of  any  further  division,  will 
reproduce  colourless  light,  if  concentred  on  one  spot  by  a 
lens — a  proof  of  their  being  its  component  parts. 

If  the  light  of  the  sun  were  simple,  then  all  bodies  would 
appear  to  us  either  black  or  white,  by  the  absorption  or  re- 
flection of  its  uniform  rays,  and  thus  Nature,  instead  of  her 
wonderful  and  many-coloured  garb,  would  offer  but  a  few  dull 
and  monotonous  tints. 

As,  however,  but  few  bodies  reflect  or  absorb  the  entire 
sunbeam,  while  the  majority  retain  only  a  part  of  the  prismatic 
colours  and  reject  the  remainder,  which  thus  become  visible  to 
the  eye,  that  charming  variety  of  colours  is  obtained,  which  we 
admire  in  the  glowing  purple  of  the  morning  and  evening  sky, 
in  the  brilliant  reflections  of  the  sea,  in  the  foliage  of  the  trees, 
in  the  hues  of  flowers,  in  the  splendid  robes  of  the  animal 
creation,  or  in  the  lustrous  tints  of  the  mineral  world. 


14  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

The  immense  variety  of  colours  with  which  the  face  of 
Nature  is  adorned,  not  only  affords  the  fullest  gratification 
to  our  sense  of  the  beautiful,  it  is  even  essential  to  our  very 
existence,  and  to  that  of  most  of  the  higher  animals ;  for  how 
should  we  be  able  to  find  our  food,  or  to  escape  from  our 
enemies,  if  all  objects  were  uniformly  black  or  white?  Plunged 
in  a  colourless  world,  man  could  never  have  become  a  civilised 
being ;  his  fancy,  his  knowledge  would  have  been  crippled,  his 
mind  torpid  and  inert.  Thus  there  is  an  intimate  harmony 
between  the  coloured  sunbeam  and  the  wants  of  our  spiritual 
nature,  evidently  proving  that  both  proceed  from  the  same 
divine  source. 

The  successful  investigation  of  the  properties  of  light  is  one 
of  the  proudest  triumphs  of  human  ingenuity.  Light  darts 
through  space  with  an  utterly  inconceivable  rapidity,  yet  man 
has  been  able  to  measure  its  speed.  He  knows  that  it  undulates 
at  the  rate  of  192,000  miles  a  second,  and  that  as  no  less  than 
39,000  waves  of  red  light  and  57,500  waves  of  violet  light  placed 
end  to  end  would  be  required  to  make  up  an  inch,  the  vibrations 
of  the  former  within  that  minute  space  of  time  amount  to  the 
truly  astounding  number  of  474,  and  those  of  the  latter  to 
699,  millions  of  millions  ! 

In  passing  through  various  media,  or  on  striking  their  surfaces, 
light  is  refracted  or  thrown  back  in  angles  of  every  dimension  ; 
yet  man  reduces  all  these  deviations  to  fixed  laws,  and  calculates 
them  with  mathematical  precision.  He  knows  whether  light 
proceeds  from  a  self-luminous  star,  or  whether  it  is  only  reflected 
by  a  planet — and  thus  obtains  a  measure  for  the  various  natures 
of  the  celestial  bodies. 

To  be  able  to  make  all  these  discoveries  and  observations,  to 
be  able  to  track  light  to  inconceivable  distances,  or  to  penetrate 
by  its  means  into  the  secrets  of  the  microscopical  world,  be  has 
armed  his  limited  eyesight  with  truly  magical  instruments,  which 
reveal  to  him  both  the  existence  of  distant  worlds  and  that  of 
creatures  so  minute  that  many  thousands  find  room  for  their 
activity  in  a  single  drop  of  water  !  Within  the  last  few  years  he 
has  even  forced  light  to  do  him  service  as  a  painter,  and  to  trace 
portraits  or  landscapes  with  a  delicacy  and  perfection  of  touch 
such  as  the  human  hand  would  vainly  strive  to  emulate. 

What  is  heat  ? — what  is  light  ?    These  questions,  so  difficult  to 


NATURE   OF   HEAT   AND  LIGHT.  15 

answer,  naturally  force  themselves  upon  the  attention  of  every 
thinking  mind  which  observes  their  astonishing  effects.  Formerly 
the  material  theory,  which  regarded  heat  and  light  as  fluids  of 
inappreciable  tenuity  stored  up  in  the  inter-atomic  spaces  of 
bodies,  and  evolved  under  certain  circumstances  so  as  to  become 
sensible  to  the  touch  or  vision,  had  the  greater  number  of  ad- 
herents ;  but  recent  discoveries  leave  no  doubt  of  the  truth 
of  the  dynamical  theory,  according  to  which  they  are  merely 
accidents  or  conditions  of  matter — namely,  motions  of  its  ulti- 
mate particles.  These  motions  or  vibrations  communicate  their 
undulations  to  the  highly  elastic  ethereal  fluid  which  fills  all 
space,  and  in  which  the  hosts  of  the  celestial  bodies  are  plunged, 
like  islands  in  an  infinite  ocean.  Eays  of  heat  and  light  without 
number,  proceeding  as  messengers  of  life  from  countless  suns, 
cross  each  other  in  that  vast  interstellar  sea — itself  the  seat  of 
perpetual  cold,  of  perpetual  silence,  of  perpetual  darkness,  of 
perpetual  death.  But  are  these  silent  realms  mere  useless  voids, 
mere  dead  and  dreary  wastes  ?  No  !  for  through  them  warmth 
and  light  radiate  from  world  to  world ;  they  form  a  necessary  link 
in  the  chain  of  influences  and  motions  from  which  life  proceeds, 
and  without  their  night  there  would  be  no  day,  and  no  beings 
to  enjoy  the  day  and  its  infinite  variety  and  beauty. 


16  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   ATMOSPHERIC   OCEAN. 

Immensity  of  the  Atmospheric  Ocean — The  Component  Parts  of  the  Atmosphere — 
Oxygen — Nitrogen — Wonderful  Constancy  in  the  Composition  of  the  Atmosphere — 
Antagonism  between  Vegetable  and  Animal  Life — The  System  of  the  Winds — 
Dependence  of  all  Terrestrial  Life  upon  the  actual  Constitution  of  the  Atmosphere — 
Atmospheric  Air  but  a  Mixture — No  Chemical  Combination  of  Oxygen  and  Nitro- 
gen— Transparency  of  the  Air — Its  Influence  upon  the  Mental  Development  of 
Mankind — Air  considered  as  the  Bearer  of  Sounds — Voices  of  Nature. 

OVER  sea  and  land  spreads  the  vast  cupola  of  the  atmospheric 
ocean.  You  might  fly  twenty  times  higher  than  ever  the  condor 
flies,  you  might  pile  fifty  Mont  Blancs  one  upon  the  other, 
and  yet  you  would  not  reach  its  confines. 

In  wondrous  majesty  the  sea  rolls  its  billows  over  three-fourths 
of  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  the  plummet  has  not  yet  revealed 
to  us  all  the  mysteries  of  its  depths ;  but  even  the  sea  is  small, 
when  compared  with  the  vast  domains  of  air  that  rise  above  it 
to  an  unknown  height. 

Of  what  substances  is  this  immense  aerial  ocean  composed  ? 
It  was  a  highly  important  step  in  the  progress  of  human  know- 
ledge when  this  question  was  first  answered,  when  towards  the 
end  of  the  last  century  Lavoisier  first  discovered  that  the  air  we 
breathe  is  not  a  simple  elementary  body,  but  a  mixture  of  two 
gases  of  very  different  properties,  to  which  he  gave  the  names  of 
oxygen  and  nitrogen. 

As  is  well  known,  the  first  of  these  gases,  which  forms  about 
a  fifth  part  of  the  volume  of  the  air,  is  extremely  combustible, 
and  has  a  great  tendency  to  combine  with  other  bodies ;  while 
nitrogen,  which  occupies  the  remaining  four-fifths  of  the  volume 
of  the  atmosphere,  is  incombustible,  and  but  little  inclined  to 
sacrifice  its  independent  existence ;  and  thus,  while  oxygen  enters 
largely  into  the  composition  of  water,  and  of  most  of  the  sub- 
stances which  form  the  solid  earth-rind,  nitrogen  is  chiefly  con- 
fined to  the  aerial  regions. 


ANTAGONISM  BETWEEN  VEGETABLE  AND  ANIMAL  LIFE.      17 

All  organised  beings  absolutely  require  oxygen  for  their 
existence,  and  receive  it  from  the  inexhaustible  sources  of  the 
atmosphere.  When  we  reflect  on  the  countless  millions  of 
animals  which  are  constantly  inhaling  and  consuming  this  prime 
necessary  of  life,  and  as  constantly  evolving  carbonic  acid,  a  gas 
destructive  to  life,  we  well  may  wonder  how,  in  spite  of  this 
enormous  consumption  and  perpetual  pollution,  the  composition 
of  the  atmosphere  still  remains  unchanged  from  age  to  age. 

This  immutability  in  the  midst  of  eternal  disturbance,  this 
constancy  where  so  many  changes  are  perpetually  at  work,  can 
only  be  the  result  of  a  wonderful  order,  of  a  masterly  balance 
between  conflicting  influences. 

The  opposite  wants  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  are  the  chief 
means  which  Providence  uses  for  maintaining  the  purity  of  the 
atmosphere.  Animals  consume  oxygen  and  exhale  carbonic  acid, 
while  in  the  economy  of  plants  the  inverse  operation  takes 
place.  Thus,  without  the  plants,  the  animals  would  soon  decline 
and  perish,  in  consequence  of  the  increasing  impurity  of  the  at- 
mosphere ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  plants  could  not  exist 
without  the  carbonic  acid,  which  the  vital  process  of  animals  is 
constantly  imparting  to  the  air. 

Even  in  the  narrow  space  of  an  aquarium  we  are  able  to  per- 
ceive the  beneficial  effects  of  this  opposition  between  vegetable 
and  animal  respiration.  For  if  we  enclose  marine  animals  alone 
— mollusks,  annelides,  star-fishes,  crustaceans — in  one  of  these  re- 
servoirs, they  soon  perish,  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  oxygen 
and  the  pollution  of  the  water;  but  by  adding  a  few  plants — 
ulvse  or  confervas — the  equilibrium  maintains  itself,  and  while 
the  latter  enjoy  a  vigorous  growth,  the  former  are  able  for  a 
long  time  to  preserve  an  unimpaired  health. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  admirable  antagonism  between  the  vege- 
table and  animal  kingdoms,  the  purity  of  the  air  would  have 
been  but  imperfectly  maintained  if  the  atmosphere  had  not  been 
kept  in  a  state  of  constant  motion  by  the  magnificent  system  of 
the  winds,  which  force  the  air  to  wander  in  perpetual  currents 
from  the  equator  to  the  pole,  and  from  the  pole  to  the  equator. 

The  unequal  influence  of  the  heat  of  the  sun  upon  the  atmo- 
sphere between  the  tropics  and  in  the  higher  latitudes  is  the 
first  grand  cause  of  this  immense  aerial  circulation.  In  those 
favoured  regions  where  the  sun  darts  his  vertical  rays  upon  the 

c 


1«  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

earth,  and  pours  floods  of  warmth  into  the  bosom  of  the  ocean, 
the  rarefied  air,  as  if  attracted  by  the  great  luminary,  ascends  in 
vertical  columns  to  the  skies.  But  as  the  law  of  gravity  tolerates 
no  void,  cold  air  columns  keep  constantly  rushing  in  from  the 
poles  to  replace  the  ascending  equatorial  air-currents,  which, 
on  reaching  the  higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  in  their  turn 
gradually  descend  towards  the  poles,  where,  condensed  by  the 
cold,  they  again  resume  their  equatorial  migrations. 

While  the  sun  thus  perpetually  ventilates  the  air  on  a  truly 
magnificent  scale,  the  unequal  warmth  of  the  various  bodies 
which  clothe  the  surface  of  the  earth  likewise  causes  a  constant 
agitation  of  the  atmosphere.  Grass,  stones,  the  leaves  of  the 
forest,  the  waters,  are  all  unequally  heated  by  the  sun,  radiate 
with  unequal  power  the  caloric  they  have  absorbed,  communicate 
to  the  contiguous  air  a  higher  or  a  lower  temperature,  and  con- 
sequently a  diminution  or  an  increase  of  weight.  But  the  air 
constantly  strives  to  restore  its  equilibrium,  and  thus  sweeps 
along  in  constantly  renewed  currents  over  the  surface  of  the 
bodies  which  cause  these  constant  perturbations. 

The  carbonic  acid  which  we  exhale  with  our  warm  breath  is 
carried  to  a  distance  before  our  breast  expands  for  a  new  inspi- 
ration, and,  in  the  open  air,  not  a  single  atom  that  has  ever  es- 
caped our  lungs  will  again  return  into  their  cells.  Thus  the  sun, 
the  source  of  light  and  warmth,  is  also  one  of  the  chief  pro- 
moters of  our  health. 

The  organisation  of  all  plants  and  animals  is  so  intimately 
based  upon  the  existing  composition  of  the  atmosphere,  that, 
supposing  a  change  to  take  place  in  the  constitution  of  the  air, 
all  beings  actually  existing  must  necessarily  perish.  If  the 
atmosphere  contained  a  greater  proportion  of  oxygen,  the 
current  of  our  life  would  be  accelerated  for  a  time,  but  would 
also  be  much  more  rapidly  consumed  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
its  quantity  was  considerably  reduced,  the  respiratory  process 
would  languish,  and  life  soon  become  extinct. 

The  petrified  remains  of  birds  and  quadrupeds  which  we  find 
in  the  deposits  of  the  primeval  ocean  prove  that  during  an  in- 
calculable series  of  ages  the  composition  of  the  atmosphere 
cannot  have  differed  in  any  notable  degree  from  its  present 
condition,  but  they  prove  at  the  same  time  how  perfect  the 
laws  must  be,  which  during  such  vast  periods  have  constantly 
maintained  its  uniformity. 


TRANSPARENCY   OF   THE   AIR.  19 

It  is  a  highly  important  fact  that  the  air  we  breathe  does 
not  consist,  like  water,  of  an  intimate  combination  of  elements, 
but  only  of  a  mixture  of  gases  which  are  not  united  together  by 
the  close  bonds  of  chemical  affinity.  The  reduction  or  sepa- 
ration of  a  compound  body — whether  solid,  liquid,  or  gaseous 
— into  its  component  parts  is  in  every  case  the  more  or  less 
violent  disruption  of  a  more  or  less  intimate  association,  and  con- 
sequently cannot  be  effected  without  the  waste  or  consumption 
of  a  certain  amount  of  power.  Thus  we  see  how  greatly  the 
respiratory  process  of  animals  is  facilitated  by  their  being  able 
to  obtain  their  supply  of  oxygen,  without  first  being  obliged  to 
separate  it  from  an  intimate  connection  with  its  accompanying 
nitrogen,  which,  going  in  and  out  of  the  lungs  unchanged,  merely 
performs  the  passive  but  highly  important  part  of  moderating 
the  action  of  its  fiery  partner. 

The  air  of  the  atmosphere  not  only  contains  the  substance 
which  our  vital  process  absolutely  requires  for  its  maintenance 
but  its  physical  properties  have  likewise  been  made  to  harmonise 
most  beautifully  both  with  the  existence  of  organic  life  and  the 
development  of  our  mental  powers.  What  would  have  been  the 
consequence  if,  instead  of  allowing  a  free  passage  to  the  calorific 
rays  of  the  sun,  it  had  been  a  ready  absorber  of  their  warmth  ? 
Then  the  heat  which  is  necessary  for  the  growth  of  plants  would 
never  have  reached  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  have  been  swal- 
lowed up,  and  again  radiated  into  space  by  the  upper  regions  of 
the  atmosphere. 

The  wonderful  transparency  of  the  air  not  only  allows  us  to 
see  terrestrial  objects  at  a  great  distance,  such  as  a  ship  rising 
at  the  brink  of  the  horizon,  or  a  mountain-peak  raising  its  snow- 
clad  summit  above  many  miles  of  intervening  country,  but  to 
penetrate  through  the  whole  of  its  crystal  depths  to  those  far- 
distant  worlds  which  so  magnificently  bespangle  the  dark  vault 
of  heaven,  and  whose  study  forms  one  of  the  noblest  occupations 
of  the  human  mind. 

As  the  bearer  of  sounds  which  undulate  along  on  its  elastic 
waves,  the  air  likewise  largely  contributes  to  the  enjoyment  of 
life  and  to  our  intellectual  improvement.  Our  eye  might  ever 
so  much  delight  in  the  aspect  of  a  beautiful  landscape,  the  scene 
would  still  seem  desolate  and  dreary  if  it  lay  before  us  in  deep 
uninterrupted  silence. 

The  waving  corn-field,  the  rustling  grove,  would  be  bereft  of 

c  2 


20  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

half  their  charms  if  the  breeze  had  no  power  to  awaken  their 
dormant  melodies.  The  picturesque  beauty  of  the  murmuring 
brook,  of  the  bubbling  source,  of  the  river  bounding  over  its 
rocky  bed,  or  of  the  foaming  cataract,  is  wonderfully  enhanced 
by  the  grace  or  sublimity  of  their  peculiar  music,  and  even  the 
ocean  would  be  far  less  majestic  if  he  had  not  voices  harmonising 
with  all  his  humours,  now  gently  rustling  over  the  pebbles  of 
the  sunny  beach,  now  frantically  raving  against  the  rock-bound 
coast. 

Thus,  through  our  ear  and  through  our  eye,  the  transparent 
sound-bearing  atmosphere  holds  sweet  communion  with  our 
soul,  and  opens  to  its  contemplation  the  portals  of  another 
world. 


21 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MAJESTY  OF  THE  OCEAN. 

The  Immensity  of  the  Ocean— Ebb  and  Flood— Causes  of  the  Tides— Their  In- 
fluence on  the  Organic  Life  of  the  Seas — Ocean  Currents — How  Produced — 
Their  Importance — Evidences  of  Unity  of  Design  resulting  from  the  intimate 
Connection  of  the  Phenomena  of  the  Seas  and  the  distant  Celestial  Bodies. 

WHERE  are  the  boundaries  of  the  sea?  where  is  its  beginning  or 
its  end  ?  It  rolls  through  every  zone,  and  the  continents  are 
but  islands  rising  from  its  immeasurable  bosom. .  Day  and 
night,  winter  and  summer,  rule  at  one  and  the  same  time 
over  its  vast  domains ;  the  sun  is  ever  rising  and  ever  setting 
over  its  restless  waters.  Here  palm-groves  wave  their  graceful 
fronds  over  its  ever-smiling  margin ;  there  eternal  ice  blocks 
up  its  melancholy  strands;  here  the  storm  rages  over  the 
mountain-wave ;  there  profound  peace  reigns  over  its  surface, 
and  not  a  breath  of  air  ruffles  its  glassy  brow. 

Sublime  in  space,  the  sea  is  no  less  sublime  in  time.  The 
present  dry  land  bears  everywhere  the  traces  that  it  once  rested 
in  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  and  how  many  continents  and  islands 
may  they  not  have  swallowed  in  the  course  of  unnumbered  cen- 
turies, how  often  may  they  not  have  changed  their  seat  and  dis- 
placed their  boundaries  ?  Countless  forms  of  animal  life  have 
one  after  the  other  appeared  and  perished  beneath  them ;  they 
have  successively  witnessed  the  birth  and  the  death  of  the  tri- 
lobites,  of  the  ammonites,  of  the  encrinites,  and  of  the  giant 
saurians.  And  how  long  may  not  the  desert-ocean  have  rolled 
its  waves  before  organic  life  first  dawned  upon  it,  before  the  first 
alga  spread  its  fronds  along  the  shore,  or  the  first  mollusk  opened 
its  valves  to  the  tide  ? 

What  a  majestic  age !  what  a  past  and  what  a  future  !  for  the 
ocean,  the  sepulchre  of  so  many  extinct  forms  of  animals  and 
plants,  is  destined  to  be  the  grave  of  many  others  yet  glowing 


22  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

with  all  the  energy  of  life ;  and  when  perhaps  nobler  beings  may 
have  taken  the  place  of  man,  its  waves  will  still  sparkle  in  the 
glittering  sunbeam,  or  thunder  against  the  coast  of  some  land 
now  still  reposing  in  its  depths. 

How  numberless  are  the  blessings  we  owe  to  the  ocean,  the 
father  and  sustainer  of  all  organic  life  !  He  it  is  that  feasts  the 
stream,  that  fills  the  lake,  that  bubbles  in  the  spring,  that 
foams  in  the  cataract,  or  rushes  along  in  the  mountain  torrent. 
Should  his  eternal  fountains  be  dried  up,  then  the  blooming 
surface  of  the  earth  would  be  converted  into  a  naked  waste. 
To  him  we  owe  the  magnificence  of  our  forests,  the  verdure  of 
our  meadows,  the  beauty  of  our  fields.  It  is  his  waters  we  enjoy 
in  the  luscious  fruits  of  our  orchards,  or  quaff  in  the  juice  of  the 
exhilarating  grape.  They  circulate  in  the  veins  of  numberless 
animals,  of  the  bee  which  offers  us  the  sweet  tribute  of  its  honey, 
of  the  bird  that  charms  us  with  its  melodious  song,  of  the  domes- 
tic quadruped  on  whose  flesh  we  feed,  and  whose  services  are 
indispensable  to  our  welfare.  Nay,  our  own  blood  is  originally 
drawn  from  the  wells  of  the  ocean,  and  is  constantly  refreshed 
and  replenished  from  their  exhaustless  sources. 

Far  from  separating  from  each  other  the  nations  of  the  earth 
(as  the  ancients,  still  inexperienced  in  navigation,  supposed),  the 
sea  is  the  great  highway  of  the  human  race,  and  unites  all  its 
various  tribes  into  one  common  family  by  the' beneficial  bonds  of 
commerce.  Countless  fleets  are  constantly  furrowing  its  bosom, 
to  enrich,  by  perpetual  exchanges,  all  the  countries  of  the  globe 
with  the  products  of  every  zone,  to  convey  the  fruits  of  the 
tropical  world  to  the  children  of  the  chilly  north,  or  to  trans- 
port the  manufactures  of  colder  climes  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
equatorial  regions.  With  the  growth  of  commerce,  civilisation 
also  spreads  athwart  the  wide  causeway  of  the  ocean  from  shore 
to  shore;  it  first  dawned  on  the  borders  of  the  sea,  and  its  chief 
seats  are  still  to  be  found  along  its  confines. 

The  same  power  of  attraction  which  governs  the  course  of 
the  stars,  and  compels  the  planets  to  wander  in  eternal  ellipses 
round  the  sun,  is  also  the  Supreme  Arbiter  of  the  tides.  How 
wonderful  this  regular  undeviating  alternation  of  ebb  and  flood, 
this  immutable  constancy  in  the  midst  of  eternal  change ! — but 
our  wonder  increases  when  we  learn  that  the  cause  of  the  grand 
phenomenon,  which  never  fails  to  interest  the  observer,  how- 


INFLUENCE    OF    THE    TIDES.  23 

ever  often  he  may  have  witnessed  its  charming  recurrence,  does 
not  reside  in  the  bosom  of  the  liquid  element  itself,  but  is  to 
be  sought  for  far  away,  over  the  remote  abysses  of  ether,  in 
the  attractive  power  of  the  sun,  and  still  more  so  of  the  moon, 
who,  as  she  rolls  along,  causes  the  obedient  waters  to  follow  in 
her  wake. 

Thus  Science  teaches  us  :  and  surely  no  accusation  was  ever 
more  unfounded  than  the  frequent  reproach  that  she  has 
banished  poetry  from  Nature,  and  prosaically  robbed  her  of  the 
enchanted  garb  with  which  she  had  been  invested  by  the 
creative  fancy  of  past  ages,  for  even  the  brilliant  imagination 
of  a  Shakespeare  could  not  possibly  have  conceived  a  greater 
image  than  that  of  the  ever-restless  tide-wave,  which,  following 
the  triumphant  march  of  the  sun  and  moon,  began  as  soon  as 
the  primeval  ocean  was  formed,  and  is  to  last  uninterruptedly 
as  long  as  our  solar  system  exists ! 

The  influence  of  the  tides  upon  the  marine  plants  and 
animals  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  A  vast  number  of  polypes, 
mollusks,  and  crustaceans  thrive  only  within,  or  but  a  few 
fathoms  below,  the  littoral  zone  (as  the  belt  of  rock  or  shingle 
extending  from  high-water  to  low-water  mark  is  termed),  and 
many  of  the  commonest  algae  best  flourish  when  alternately 
bathed  with  floods  of  water  and  of  air. 

Many  of  these  plants  and  lower  animals  could  not  possibly 
live  if  the  continual  oscillations  of  the  tides  did  not  constantly 
saturate  the  coast-waters  with  the  oxygen  which  is  necessary  for 
their  existence;  and,  along  with  these,  numbers  of  fishes, 
sea-birds,  and  marine  mammalians,  such  as  seals,  manatees,  or 
dugongs,  that  now  feed  upon  the  abundance  of  the  shallow 
waters,  must  also  have  been  blotted  from  the  book  of  life. 

Thus  the  beautiful  shells,  the  grotesque  crustaceans,  the  plant- 
like  polypes  and  corals  which  thrive  best  among  the  roaring 
breakers,  the  gulls  and  divers,  and  many  other  birds  that  dwell  in 
the  littoral  zone,  or  hover  about  its  skirts,  are,  if  not  all  of  them, 
yet  mostly  indebted  for  their  existence  to  the  friendly  moon  who 
sends  down  her  rays  upon  them  from  the  distance  of  so  many  , 
thousand  miles.  She  bears  no  sea  on  her  arid  volcanic  surface ; 
as  far  as  we  know,  no  atmospheric  ocean  rolls  its  billows  over  her 
lofty  mountain-peaks ;  but  although  she  herself  is  naked  and 
waste,  she  fosters  life  on  the  shores  of  the  ocean  of  another 


24  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

world,  and  thousands  upon  thousands  of  our  marine  animals 
enjoy  the  light  of  the  sun  through  her  alone.  Can  chance  or 
blind  physical  laws  have  possibly  caused  this  wonderful  depen- 
dence, or  is  it  a  divine  power  which  has  thus  linked  the  desti- 
nies of  our  globe  to  the  influence  of  another  world  ? 

As  the  atmosphere  is  constantly  wandering  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles,  and  from  the  regions  of  perpetual  ice  to  the  sultry 
tropics,  thus  also  the  waters  of  the  ocean  are  hurried  along  in 
perpetual  migrations.  From  the  deep  abysses  of  the  seas,  im- 
penetrable to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  they  rise  to  the  sunny  surface, 
or,  after  having  revelled  in  the  bounding  wave,  they  again 
descend  into  the  silent  darkness  of  the  submarine  regions.  From 
the  coral  gardens  of  the  Pacific  they  are  carried  away  to  the 
bleak  coasts  where  the  walrus  heaves  his  ponderous  mass  upon 
the  ice,  and  from  the  desolate  shores  where  the  Esquimau 
harpoons  the  wily  seal,  to  the  delightful  bay  where  Naples  smiles 
upon  the  azure  wave* 

The  causes  which  force  the  waters  of  the  sea  to  wander  thus 
restlessly  from  place  to  place  are  identically  the  same  as  those 
which  forbid  the  floods  of  the  atmospheric  ocean  ever  to  know 
rest ;  for  the  impulse  of  their  migrations  does  not  proceed  from 
their  own  bosom,  but  from  the  distant  sun.  Absorbing  the 
heat  of  his  vertical  beams,  the  expanding  tropical  waters  are 
constantly  rising  to  the  surface,  whence  they  flow  onwards  to 
the  higher  latitudes,  where  the  opposite  tendency  takes  place ; 
for,  chilled  by  the  icy  blasts  of  the  Arctic  regions  and  conse- 
quently increasing  in  weight,  the  surface-waters  are  here  carried 
down  to  the  bottom,  and  ultimately  find  their  way  to  the  equa- 
torial regions. 

Thus  the  repose  of  the  seas  is  constantly  disturbed  by  tropical 
heat  and  polar  frost,  but  the  ocean  has  the  same  tendency  to 
restore  the  equilibrium  of  its  temperature  as  the  atmosphere, 
and  thus  those  numerous  warm  and  cold  currents  are  produced, 
which,  furrowing  the  bosom  of  the  seas  in  opposite  directions, 
are  constantly  exchanging  the  waters  of  the  different  zones. 

In  its  lowest  depths,  the  influence  of  the  sun  is  felt ;  he  con- 
stantly covers  the  bottom  of  the  tropical  seas  with  frigid  waters 
and  causes  the  warm  equatorial  floods  to  wander  to  the  poles, — 
a  magnificent  system  based  upon  the  simple  physical  law  of  the 
expansion  of  bodies  through  heat  and  their  condensation  through 


SYSTEM    OF   MARINE  CURRENTS.  25 

cold,  How  many  thousands  or  even  millions  of  cubic  miles  of 
water  may  not  the  ocean  contain,  but  these  enormous  masses, 
too  vast  for  the  human  imagination  to  conceive,  are  moved  gently 
but  irresistibly  by  the  power  of  a  sphere  80,000,000  miles  dis- 
tant from  our  globe  ! 

The  influence  of  the  oceanic  currents  upon  the  organic  life, 
not  only  of  the  seas  but  of  the  neighbouring  lands,  is  quite  incal- 
culable. They  moderate  the  heat  of  the  tropical  zone,  and  convey 
a  considerable  portion  of  equatorial  warmth  into  the  higher 
latitudes.  Without  the  gulf-stream,  whose  influence  may  be 
traced  as  far  as  the  west  coasts  of  Spitzbergen  and  Novaja 
Sewlja,  Scotland  and  Norway,  where  forests  clothe  the  moun- 
tain-sides up  to  a  height  of  several  thousand  feet,  would  be 
nothing  but  icy  deserts  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  tropical  west 
coast  of  South  America  owes  its  temperate  climate  to  the  cold 
Peruvian  stream,  which  constantly  conveys  refreshing  coolness 
from  the  Antarctic  seas. 

It  may  easily  be  conceived  how  this  vast  system  of  currents 
and  counter-currents,  furrowing  the  seas  in  every  direction,  must 
contribute  to  the  dissemination  of  marine  life.  Countless  spores 
of  algae,  innumerable  eggs  and  larvas,  are  transported  by  the 
oceanic,  streams  from  place  to  place,  and  many  land-animals 
attached  to  floating  timber  are  in  a  like  manner  conveyed  to 
distant  regions. 

The  ocean-currents  are  likewise  extremely  favourable  to  ma- 
rine life,  from  their  saturating  the  deep  waters  with  atmosphe- 
ric air ;  for,  as  the  colder  superficial  layers  sink  to  the  bottom, 
they  carry  along  with  them  the  oxygen  they  have  imbibed  while 
in  contact  with  the  air,  and  are  thus  able  to  impart  this  first 
necessary  of  life  to  numerous  animals  dwelling  in  the  deeper 
waters. 

As  the  winds  purify  the  atmosphere,  thus  also  the  currents 
purify  the  sea  by- preventing  the  accumulation  of  putrefying 
substances  and  spreading  them  over  a  greater  surface,  where  they 
are  speedily  devoured  by  hosts  of  hungry  scavengers. 

Besides  all  these  beneficial  influences,  the  marine  currents 
tend  also  to  equalise  the  saline  composition  of  sea- water,  so 
necessary  to  the  welfare  or  existence  of  many  of  the  denizens  of 
the  ocean. 

Their  movements  also  contribute  to  the  formation  of  sand- 


26  THE   HAEMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

banks,  where  at  certain  seasons  legions  of  fishes  deposit  their 
spawn,  and  invite  the  persecutions  of  man. 

The  organic  life  of  the  ocean  would  thus  be  reduced  to  very 
narrow  limits,  if  the  moon  and  the  sun — the  former  by  her 
attraction,  the  latter  by  the  unequal  action  of  his  warmth  upon 
the  surface  of  the  sea  in  different  latitudes — did  not  perpetually 
agitate  its  waters ;  and  this  intimate  connection  between  those 
distant  celestial  orbs  and  the  sea  and  its  inhabitants  cannot  but 
convince  every  reflecting  mind  that  both  derive  their  origin  from 
the  same  creative  power. 


27 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   ATMOSPHERICAL   PKECIPITATIONS   IN    THEIR   RELATION    TO 
ORGANIC   NATURE. 

The  constant  Sources  of  the  Eivers — The  Harmonies  of  the  Ocean  and  the  Atmo- 
sphere— Distribution  of  Bain  and  Snow  over  the  Surface  of  the  Globe — The  Voices 
of  Eivers — Dew — History  of  its  Formation — Clouds  and  Eain — Snow  and  Ice 
as  Protectors  of  Vegetable  and  Animal  Life — Eavines — The  G-laciers — The 
Tornado. 

THOUGH  the  voices  of  the  rivers  change  with  the  varying  sea- 
sons— loud  and  menacing  in  spring,  when  their  floods  are 
swollen  by  the  melted  snows,  and  softly  whispering  after  a  long 
summer's  drought — yet,  over  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the 
earth  they  never  rest  in  total  silence,  nor  does  the  rain  ever 
cease  to  replenish  their  sources  or  to  quench  the  thirst  of  the 
forests  on  the  hills  and  of  the  meadows  in  the  plains. 

This  uninterrupted  flow  of  the  rivers,  this  constant  irrigation 
of  the  fields  and  woods,  evidently  points  to  the  agency  of  some 
grand  and  constant  law,  to  an  admirable  harmony  between  the 
wide  sea  below  and  the  still  more  ample  atmospheric  ocean 
above. 

Everywhere  the  air  absorbs  humidity,  but  chiefly  over  the 
surface  of  the  tropical  ocean,  where,  volatilised  by  the  vertical 
rays  of  an  ardent  sun,  the  aqueous  vapours  ascend  in  amazing 
quantities  to  the  skies.  Thus,  the  equatorial  seas  are  the  prin- 
cipal sources  which  feed  our  brooks  and  fill  our  lakes;  it  is 
from  them  that  the  greater  part  of  the  rain  arises  which  refreshes 
the  verdure  of  our  plains,  and  of  the  snow  which  covers  the 
northern  mountains  with  a  white  mantle  of  dazzling  brightness. 

But  how  are  these  vapours  distributed  over  the  surface  of  the 
globe  ?  how  are  they  conveyed  to  the  temperate  zones,  or  even 
still  farther  onward  to  the  frigid  poles  ? 

The  same  grand  system  of  the  winds  which  forces  the  air  to 
perpetual  migrations  carries  also  the  evaporation  of  the  ocean 
to  distant  lands.  I  have  already  mentioned  in  a  former  chapter 


28  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

that  cold,  and  consequently  dry,  air-currents  are  perpetually 
wandering  from  the  poles  to  the  equator  to  re-establish  the 
equilibrium  of  the  atmosphere,  which  is  constantly  disturbed  by 
the  mighty  action  of  the  tropical  sea.  The  rotation  of  the 
earth  gradually  imparts  to  these  cold  polar  streams  a  direction 
from  east  to  west  as  they  advance  towards  the  lower  latitudes, 
and  ultimately  changes  them  into  the  constant  easterly  trade 
winds,  the  mariner's  delight  as  he  crosses  the  tropical  Atlantic 
on  his  way  to  the  New  World.  As  during  these  wanderings 
their  temperature  constantly  increases,  they  are  able  to  absorb 
a  constantly  increasing  quantity  of  aqueous  vapours,  until  they 
are  completely  saturated  with  moisture. 

In  their  subsequent  progress  to  the  higher  latitudes  the  con- 
trary tendency  takes  place,  for,  as  their  temperature  diminishes, 
they  become  incapable  of  retaining  the  aqueous  vapours  they 
had  previously  absorbed,  and  are  thus  compelled  to  discharge 
them  under  the  various  forms  of  rain,  snow,  hail,  or  dew,  until 
having  lost  by  far  the  greater  part  of  their  moisture,  they 
finally  reach  the  polar  regions,  whence,  thoroughly  desiccated, 
they  begin  again  their  grand  circulating  tour. 

Thus  evaporated  and  set  in  motion  by  the  sun,  the  waters,  ever 
rising  and  ever  falling,  migrate  through  the  air.  Enormous 
quantities  of  water  constantly  ascend  from  the  ocean,  but  the 
countless  rivers  which  they  feed  are  as  constantly  restoring 
them  to  their  source. 

Though  the  atmospherical  precipitations  are  very  unequally 
distributed  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  as  they  are  favoured 
or  impeded  by  a  variety  of  local  causes,  such  as  mountain-chains 
or  forests,  both  of  which  act  as  powerful  condensators,  the 
prevalence  of  dry  or  moist  winds,  according  to  the  geographical 
position,  the  constitution  of  the  soil,  &c.,  yet,  on  examining 
each  land  in  particular,  we  find  a  remarkable  uniformity  in  the 
quantity  of  rain  that  annually  falls  to  its  share.  Thus,  though  in 
England  some  years  are  more  moist  than  others,  yet  the  dif- 
ference in  the  annual  quantity  of  rain  only  deviates  a  few  inches 
from  the  mean  average,  and  the  deficiency  of  one  month  is 
generally  repaired  by  the  greater  abundance  of  the  next. 

The  clouds  that  pass  over  our  heads  pay  us  their  regular 
tribute,  and  the  authority  of  a  higher  law  reigns  even  in  the 
apparently  free  empire  of  the  air. 


THE  VOICES    OF    RIVERS.  29 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  point  out  ho\v  necessary  this  con- 
stancy in  the  meteorological  character  of  a  country  is  to  the 
well-being,  or  even  to  the  existence,  of  its  indigenous  plants  and 
animals.  If  after  prolonged  periods  of  continual  showers,  such 
as  take  place  in  the  West  Indies,  equally  long  periods  of  an 
African  drought  were  to  follow  in  our  country,  how  would  then 
our  fields  and  meadows  be  able  to  sustain  so  many  millions  of 
men  and  of  domestic  animals  ? 

Our  whole  agricultural  system,  the  whole  organic  life  of  our 
island,  is  based  on  the  alternations  of  moist  and  dry  weather 
which  distinguish  our  moderate  climate. 

If  the  earth  were  everywhere  covered  with  impermeable  strata 
of  rock,  the  rains  would  either  flow  off  so  rapidly,  or  be  so  long 
retained  in  extensive  swamps  and  pools  upon  the  surface,  as 
greatly  to  diminish  the  variety  and  luxuriance  of  vegetation. 

But  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  earth-rind  is  composed  of 
alternating  beds  or  strata  of  impermeable  clay  and  porous  lime  or 
sandstone,  originally  deposited  in  horizontal  layers  at  the  bottom 
of  the  primeval  seas,  but  now  more  or  less  displaced  and  set  on 
edge  by  the  volcanic  forces,  which  have  so  frequently  changed 
the  surface  of  the  earth. 

Wherever  permeable  beds  crop  out  on  the  surface,  the  residuary 
portions  of  rain-water,  which  are  not  disposed  of  by  floods  or  by 
evaporation,  are  absorbed  into  the  fissures  and  small  interstices 
of  the  porous  soil,  and  descending  into  their  lower  depths  until 
they  reach  an  impermeable  stratum,  form  the  subterraneous 
sheets  or  reservoirs  of  water  from  which  our  springs  and  rivers 
are  chiefly  fed.  The  granite,  gneiss,  porphyry,  lava,  and  other 
unstratified  and  crystalline  rocks  of  igneous  origin,  which  cover 
about  one-third  part  of  the  habitable  globe,  are  likewise  inter- 
sected by  innumerable  fissures  and  interstices,  which  collect  and 
transmit  rain-water,  and  give  origin  to  springs. 

Thus  the  volcanic  forces,  which,  in  the  course  of  countless 
centuries  have  moulded  the  earth-rind  into  its  present  form, 
have  at  the  same  time  furnished  it  with  the  necessary  filters, 
drains,  conduits,  and  cisterns,  for  the  supply  of  the  sources, 
brooks,  and  rivers  that  run  along  its  surface. 

The  geological  convulsions  of  the  globe,  the  evaporation 
of  the  ocean,  the  circulation  of  the  waters  over  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  thus  all  harmoniously  tend  to  the  maintenance  of 


30  THE   HAKMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

organic  life ;  and  truly,  whoever  reflects  upon  the  manner  how 
streams  originate,  and  how  their  waters  are  constantly  replen- 
ished, cannot  fail  to  view  them  with  a  deeper  interest  than"  that 
which  their  mere  beauty  or  utility  inspires.  To  him  they  are  not 
only  the  melodious  ornaments  of  the  valley,  the  highways  of  com- 
merce, the  benefactors  of  mankind,  but  the  effects  of  a  wonderful 
co-operation  of  physical  laws,  all  tending  to  one  common  end, 
and  as  they  rush  along  he  fancies  he  hears  a  voice  proclaiming 
the  glories  of  their  Maker. 

Similar  harmonies  strike  us  when  we  examine  the  nature  of 
the  various  atmospherical  precipitations  with  reference  to  the 
requirements  of  organic  life. 

How  beautiful  is  the  morning  dew,  glittering  in  all  the 
colours  of  the  rainbow ;  how  it  refreshes  the  thirsty  plains ;  how 
the  plants  raise  their  drooping  heads  under  the  influence 
of  its  grateful  moisture !  Poets  have  made  it  the  emblem  of 
purity,  but  physical  science,  by  revealing  to  us  the  simple  laws 
that  preside  over  its  formation,  has  rendered  it  more  beautiful 
still  to  the  reflecting  observer. 

Everybody  knows  that,  when  in  summer  a  bottle  filled  with 
cold  water  is  brought  into  a  warm  room,  it  soon  gets  covered 
with  thick  dew-drops,  which  presently  trickle  down  its  sides, 
although  it  was  perfectly  dry  on  entering.  Whence  does  this 
moisture  proceed  ?  Not  from  the  inside  of  the  bottle,  as 
ignorant  people  might  imagine,  but  from  the  surrounding  atmo- 
sphere, in  consequence  of  the  capacity  of  the  air  to  absorb 
or  retain  moisture,  increasing  or  diminishing  as  its  temperature 
grows  warmer  or  colder. 

Thus,  when  the  cold  bottle  is  introduced  into  the  room,  the 
warm  sheet  of  air,  which  is  in  immediate  contact  with  its 
surface,  immediately  cools,  and  being  no  longer  able  to  retain 
the  same  quantity  of  aqueous  vapours,  is  obliged  to  deposit 
them  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel.  As  it  cools,  its  weight  also 
increases,  it  flows  downwards,  warmer  air  takes  its  place  to 
cool  in  its  turn,  and  thus  there  is  a  perpetual  deposition  of 
moisture,  until  the  temperature  of  the  bottle  has  risen  to  that 
of  the  surrounding  atmosphere. 

This  familiar  example  suffices  to  explain  the  formation  of 
dew,  and  of  all  other  atmospherical  precipitations,  such  as 
rain,  hail,  or  snow,  as  they  all  result  from  the  influence  of 


FORMATION   OF   DEW.  31 

some  refrigerating  cause  upon  the  air.  After  sunset,  most 
bodies,  by  projecting  or  radiating  heat  into  free  space,  become 
colder  than  the  neighbouring  air,  and  as  soon  as  their  refri- 
geration has  attained  a  certain  point,  they  must  naturally,  in 
consequence  of  the  physical  law  above  mentioned,  get  covered 
with  dew.  The  best  radiators  of  heat  part,  of  course,  most 
easily  with  their  caloric,  and  for  this  reason  grass,  leaves,  or 
plants  in  general,  get  much  sooner  and  more  plentifully  covered 
with  dew  than  slower  radiators,  such  as  stones,  the  soil,  or 
metals,  which  frequently  still  remain  dry  when  the  meadows 
are  already  covered  with  plentiful  moisture.  Hence  we  can 
understand  why,  in  summer,  every  serene  night  (for  clouds, 
by  reflecting  or  throwing  back  again  upon  the  terrestrial 
surface  the  caloric  which  would  else  have  been  dissipated  into 
space,  prevent  its  rapid  refrigeration)  is  accompanied  with  a 
copious  formation  of  dew ;  why  it  is  more  abundant  in  autumn 
and  spring  than  at  any  other  season,  as  then  very  cold  and 
starlight  nights  frequently  follow  upon  warm  days,  and  why 
it  is  most  copious  in  the  torrid  zone,  as  in  those  sultry  regions 
the  air  is  more  saturated  with  moisture  than  anywhere  else,  and 
the  comparatively  cold  nights  are  almost  constantly  serene  and 
calm. 

Had  naked  stones  been  as  good  radiators  of  heat  as  leaves  or 
herbs,  then  the  latter  would  vainly  have  thirsted  for  refresh- 
ment, while  the  former  would  have  been  bathed  in  useless 
moisture. 

Had  the  dew  been  plentiful  during  violent  winds,  the  plants 
must  frequently  have  suffered,  or  been  frozen  to  death  in  con- 
sequence of  the  rapid  evaporation  of  their  moisture. 

Where  the  sun  has  most  power,  where  during  the  day  he  most 
thoroughly  dries  up  the  soil,  there  also  the  cool  night  is  most 
prodigal  of  dew. 

Thus  the  history  of  dew  gives  us  many  opportunities  of 
admiring  the  wisdom  that  has  presided  over  its  formation  and 
distribution. 

While  dew  is  merely  produced  on  the  surface  of  solid  bodies, 
the  refrigeration  of  large  volumes  of  air  forms  clouds  or  fogs, 
consisting  of  vast  numbers  of  minute  globules,  or  vesicles 
of  moisture,  which  float  like  soap-bubbles  in  the  atmosphere, 
until,  their  quantity  increasing  with  the  cold,  or  in  consequence 


32  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

of  electrical  discharges,  they  unite  to  larger  drops,  and  fall  to 
the  ground  under  the  various  forms  of  rain,  snow,  or  hail. 

The  rain-drops  grow  as  they  fall  from  a  greater  height,  and 
traverse  the  warmer  and  more  humid  atmospherical  strata, 
which  are  generally  nearer  to  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  there  is  a  considerable  difference 
in  the  quantity  of  rain  falling  within  the  same  time  upon 
the  summit  of  a  hill,  or  at  its  foot,  and  thus  the  elevated 
clouds,  from  which  the  rain  originally  descends,  are  merely 
its  starting-points. 

This  gradually  increasing  weight  of  the  rain-drops  as  they 
fall  is  of  great  importance  to  vegetation.  Had  they  at  once  at- 
tained their  full  size  at  a  considerable  height,  they  would  have 
descended  with  terrific  violence,  and  every  shower  of  rain  must 
have  been  equal  to  a  hail-storm  in  its  destructive  effects.  So 
much  ground  would  also  have  been  washed  away  from  the  hill- 
slopes  by  these  pelting  floods,  that  large  tracts  of  fertile  country 
must  have  been  converted  into  naked  wastes. 

In  the  tropical  zone  the  rain  indeed  frequently  falls  in  such 
dense  torrents  as  to  produce  a  painful  impression  on  the  skin ; 
but  here  the  structure  of  the  plants  harmonises  with  the 
meteorological  character  of  the  climate.  Genera  with  thick 
compact  leathery  leaves,  which  even  the  strongest  rain  cannot 
damage,  are  prevalent;  and  such  plants  as  have  a  more  delicate 
foliage  mostly  grow  under  the  protecting  canopy  of  the  forest. 
The  glasses  and  cereals,  such  as  maize  and  the  sugar-cane,  are 
of  a  more  robust  growth  than  our  indigenous  species,  and  the 
fruits  generally  ripen  after  the  rainy  season  is  past,  or  grow 
under  the  shelter  of  a  dense  crown  of  leaves. 

The  congelation  of  water  at  the  comparatively  moderate 
temperature  of  +  32°  F.,  when  it  either  drops  as  snow  from 
the  atmosphere,  or  covers  the  brooks  and  rivers  with  a  sheet 
of  ice,  is  of  immense  importance  to  vegetation  in  the  higher 
latitudes ;  for  snow  is  so  bad  a  conductor  of  heat,  that  under 
its  protecting  mantle  the  plants  of  the  Arctic  regions  are 
able  to  resist  the  utmost  rigours  of  the  cold.  Buried  eight 
or  ten  feet  deep  under  its  crystal  pall,  they  pass  the  long 
winter  in  a  temperature  not  much  below  freezing  point,  while 
without  icy  blasts — capable  of  converting  mercury  into  a  solid 
body — howl  over  the  naked  wilderness.  But  for  this  protection, 


DESERT   OF   ICE.  33 

no  flowers  would  ever  bloom  in  Spitzbergen  or  Nowaja  Semlya, 
where  now  many  a  ranunculus  or  purple  silene 

'  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air 

but  for  this,  no  trace  of  verdure  could  ever  enliven  the  deso- 
late shore  of  Melville  Island,  or  fringe  the  estuaries  of  the 
Mackenzie. 

Many  of  the  Arctic  animals  that  have  not  been  gifted  with 
the  capacity,  or  the  instinct,  to  undertake  long  journeys  in  quest 
of  a  milder  climate,  likewise  owe  the  preservation  of  their  life 
to  the  thick  non-conducting  snow-mantle  under  which  they  lie 
concealed  during  the  long  winter  months.  Without  this  cover- 
ing they  would  freeze  in  their  burrows,  or  the  iron  soil  would 
refuse  them  the  nourishment  which  they  find  by  digging  or 
scratching  in  its  entrails. 

What  would  become  of  the  migratory  birds,  which,  at  the 
beginning  of  summer,  arrive  in  countless  swarms  on  the  banks 
of  the  northern  waters,  if  the  snow  had  not  harboured  an  infinite 
number  of  worms  under  its  warm  cover  ?  And  what  would  be  the 
fate  of  the  rude  inhabitants  of  the  Arctic  world,  who,  after  the 
long  penury  of  winter,  anxiously  are  awaiting  their  arrival,  if 
their  winged  legions  were  to  omit  their  visits  ? 

So  much  is  certain,  that  if  during  the  Arctic  winter  only  cold 
showers  of  rain  fell  upon  the  earth,  or  if  the  frozen  aqueous 
vapours  of  the  atmosphere,  instead  of  descending  in  light 
flakes  of  snow,  were  to  pour  down  in  thick  hailstones,  vast 
tracts  of  country  now  blooming  with  a  rich  summer  vegetation, 
and  capable  of  affording  nourishment  to  numerous  animals, 
would  have  been  nothing  but  naked  wastes. 

The  loose  movable  nature  of  snow  greatly  facilitates  its  re- 
moval from  the  highlands  of  the  earth.  Scarcely  have  the 
warm  breezes  of  spring  fanned  the  mountain  vales  of  Switzer- 
land, when  numberless  small  lavines  are  seen  to  descend  from 
every  declivity  like  streamlets  of  floating  silver.  Their  loud 
voices  sound  like  delightful  music  to  the  herdsman,  who  greets 
them  as  the  heralds  of  approaching  abundance.  For  wherever 
they  leave  the  slope  uncovered,  the  sun  and  rain  act  with  a 
double  force,  and  thus  in  a  short  time  vast  quantities  of  snow, 
which  would  have  given  way  but  slowly  to  the  unassisted  efforts 

D 


34  THE   HAEMONIES   OF  STATUKE. 

of  the  sun,  disappear  from  the  hills,  and  soon  make  room  for  a 
rich  carpet  of  verdure. 

Thus  the  lavines  are  of  incalculable  advantage  to  the  Alpine 
mountaineer,  who  now  drives  his  herds  on  many  a  pasture- 
ground  which,  but  for  them,  would  be  condemned  to  perpetual 
sterility. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  snow,  filling  the  deep  gullies  or 
basins  of  the  higher  Alps,  and  thence  pouring  in  streams  of 
solid  ice  into  the  valleys,  must  be  eternally  fixed  on  earth, 
and  that  their  imprisoned  waters  could  never  find  their  way  back 
again  to  the  ocean.  The  glaciers  of  the  Mont  Blanc  or  of  the 
Bernese  Oberland  seem  perennially  to  defy  the  warmth  of  sum- 
mer; but  their  immobility  is  merely  apparent,  for  the  pres- 
sure of  the  superincumbent  masses  is  so  great  as  to  force  them 
perpetually  downwards  as  if  they  were  a  viscous  body,  until  at 
length  the  consumption  below  equals  the  supply  above. 

Thus  slowly,  indeed — for  the  velocity  of  the  great  glaciers  of 
the  Alps  rarely  exceeds  two  feet  a  day — but  yet  not  less  surely 
than  if  they  bounded  in  foaming  cataracts  down  the  valleys,  or 
rolled  in  rapid  currents  through  the  plains,  the  consolidated 
waters  above  the  snow-line  are  ultimately  restored  to  their  parent 
seas. 

In  the  same  manner  Greenland,  Spitzbergen  and  many  other 
mountainous  countries  of  the  Arctic  zone,  divest  themselves  of 
the  snows  which  cover  their  dreary  wastes,  and  thus  an  accu- 
mulation is  prevented  which  might  have  been  dangerous  to  the 
whole  economy  of  organic  nature. 

The  property  of  water  to  expand  and  thus  to  become  lighter 
on  assuming  the  solid  form  of  ice,  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  maintenance  of  organic  life  over  a  great  portion  of  the 
globe. 

If  ice  were  heavier  than  water,  the  beds  of  the  rivulets  and 
rivers,  of  the  ponds  and  lakes,  in  the  higher  latitudes  would  be 
covered  with  a  sheet  of  congealed  water  as  soon  as  the  first  frosts 
of  winter  appeared,  and  in  a  very  few  days  the  mightiest  streams 
would  be  converted,  throughout  their  whole  depth,  into  one  solid 
mass,  which  even  a  long  summer  would  hardly  have  been  able 
to  thaw,  or  which  in  many  cases  would  have  triumphed  over  all 
its  efforts.  But  ice  remaining  on  the  surface,  and  being,  like 
snow,  a  bad  conductor  of  heat,  increases  but  slowly  in  thickness 
as  the  rigours  of  winter  increase,  and  thus,  even  in  Siberia,  the 


DESEET   OF   ICE.  35 

rivers  are  only  frozen  to  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten  feet.  As  soon 
as  the  first  warm  days  of  spring  appear,  the  thawed  surface- 
waters  gather  under  the  ice-cover,  raise  it  with  irresistible  force, 
and,  bursting  the  bonds  with  which  it  enthralled  the  current, 
bear  its  fragments  along  to  the  river's  mouth,  where  they  are 
soon  dispersed  over  the  ocean. 

In  a  short  time  all  is  life  and  activity  in  the  liberated  waters. 
Millions  upon  millions  of  worms,  mollusks,  insects,  and  reptiles 
awaken  from  their  winter  lethargy,  the  sweet-water  fishes  emerge 
from  the  mud  in  which  they  lay  plunged  in  torpor,  and  from  the 
sea  other  legions  come  pouring  in  to  trust  their  eggs  to  the  warmer 
stream.  All  this  would  not  have  been  possible,  all  this  activity 
and  enjoyment  could  never  have  existed,  if  the  weight  of  ice  had 
been  superior  to  that  of  water. 

Then  also  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  seas  would  have  been 
converted  into  solid  masses,  which  the  sun  would  have  been  as 
incapable  to  melt  as  he  is  unable  completely  to  liquefy  the 
glaciers  of  the  Alps.  In  consequence  of  the  cold  radiating  from 
their  surface,  these  vast  oceans  of  ice  would  have  encroached 
upon  a  great  part  of  the  temperate  zones,  and,  by  preventing 
that  beneficial  system  of  maritime  currents  through  which  a 
considerable  portion  of  tropical  heat  is  transported  into  the 
higher  latitudes,  would  have  still  further  contributed  to  extend 
the  domains  of  perpetual  winter.  And,  finally,  the  exhalations 
of  the  tropical  ocean  which  now  regularly  return  to  its  bosom, 
would  have  accumulated  in  such  vast  masses  in  the  colder 
regions,  that  in  all  probability  the  fountains  of  the  sea  would 
have  been  finally  exhausted  of  the  greater  part  of  their  waters, 
and  the  dry  land  converted  into  an  arid  waste.  So  much  is 
certain,  that  at  best  but  a  small  portion  of  the  globe  would  have 
been  a  fit  habitation  for  man,  who,  thus  confined  to  a  narrow 
space  and  plunged  in  barbarism,  could  never  have  fulfilled  the 
higher  objects  of  his  existence. 

Thus  the  physical  laws  on  which  the  circulation  and  the 
migrations  of  the  waters  over  the  surface  of  the  globe  depend, 
have  all  been  made  to  harmonise  with  the  wants  of  animal  life, 
or  the  higher  requirements  of  the  human  race ;  thus  they  all 
contribute  to  extend  the  domains  of  organic  nature. 

The  meteorological  phenomena  are  but  exceptionally  or  locally 

destructive  ;  their  general  effect  is  constantly  beneficial.     Vast 

D  2 


36  THE   HARMONIES   OP  NATURE. 

tracts  of  country  are  perpetually  fertilised  by  refreshing  showers 
or  copious  dews ;  the  snow  covers  whole  zones  with  his  pro- 
tecting mantle,  while  the  pelting  hail-storm  generally  devas- 
tates only  narrow  districts.  The  winds  are  universal  ventilators  : 
health  and  plenty  sail  along  upon  their  invisible  wings,  and  fleets 
are  unceasingly  wafted  by  their  breath  from  shore  to  shore ;  but 
the  dreadful  tornado  is  but  a  rare  atmospherical  crisis,  and  even 
the  ravages  it  causes  are  not  unmixed  with  good,  for  many  a 
pestilential  disease  has  been  arrested  by  its  appearance,  and 
many  an  insect  plague  has  been  swept  away  by  its  drenching 
torrents.  The  greater  violence  of  the  tropical  storms  is  counter- 
balanced by  a  more  vigorous  vegetation,  which  effaces  their 
traces  in  a  shorter  time. 

Thus  everywhere  the  bounty  of  the  Creator  mitigates  the 
evils  resulting  from  the  perturbation  of  the  regular  course  of 
nature ;  thus  everywhere  His  apparent  anger  is  but  the  means 
of  conferring  new  blessings  upon  His  creatures. 


37 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    HARMONIES   BETWEEN    THE    PHYSICAL    CONSTITUTION    OF    THE 
EARTH   AND    ITS   INHABITANTS. 

The  Terrestrial  Eevolutions — The  Formation  of  Alluvial  Plains — Beneficial  Effects 
of  the  Inequalities  of  the  Earth's  Surface — What  do  Petrifactions  teach?— Coal- 
strata — The  Subterranean  Treasuries  of  Man — Influence  of  the  Change  of 
Seasons  on  Organic  Life. 

THE  sun,  the  planets,  or  even  our  satellite  the  moon,  are  so 
far  removed  from  our  sphere  that  we  can  never  hope  to  ac- 
quire an  accurate  knowledge  of  their  structure ;  but  the  earth, 
our  parent  and  our  inheritance,  lies  open  to  our  view.  We  traverse 
it  in  all  its  zones,  we  measure  the  depth  of  its  waters,  we  probe 
its  superficial  strata,  we  examine  the  petrified  remains  of  extinct 
plants  and  animals  which  it  harbours  in  its  bosom  as  in  a  vast 
sarcophagus  of  the  past ;  we  study  its  annals  in  the  deposits  of 
the  primeval  ocean,  in  the  effects  of  its  subterranean  fires,  in 
its  volcanic  eruptions,  in  the  heavings  and  subsidences  of  its 
surface  ;  and  thus  many  of  the  secrets  of  its  history  have  been 
revealed  to  us,  and  the  eye  of  science  is  able  to  penetrate  far 
back  into  the  times  that  have  preceded  the  present  configura- 
tion of  its  continents  and  seas. 

Thus  we  know  that  since  immemorial  ages  water  and  fire, 
these  two  hostile  elements,  have  been  constantly  engaged  in 
modelling  and  remodelling  its  surface;  each  striving  for  the 
mastery,  each  eager  to  destroy  the  formations  of  its  opponent. 

The  subterranean  fires  have  never  ceased  to  react  against  the 
solid  earth -rind  which  confines  them  in  iron  bondage,  to  pile  up 
mountain- chains  above  the  fissures  caused  by  their  expanding 
force,  to  heave  up  continents  from  the  bottom  of  the  seas,  to 
pour  forth  torrents  of  liquid  stone  from  the  bosom  of  the 
volcano,  or  to  shake  whole  continents,  like  a  lion  impatiently 


38  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

bounding  against  the  gratings  of  his  dungeon.  But  the  waters, 
in  alliance  with  the  disintegrating  influences  of  the  atmosphere, 
have  been  as  constantly  active  in  destroying  the  igneous  forma- 
tions, in  splitting  and  dissolving  the  mountain -peaks,  in  reducing 
crumbled  rocks  into  smaller  and  smaller  fragments,  and  in 
washing  them  down  to  a  lower  level,  destined  to  be  again  and 
again  upheaved,  and  then  again  and  again  swept  into  the  ocean. 
Thus  the  actual  state  of  the  earth-rind  is  the  result  of  in- 
numerable elementary  conflicts,  whose  records,  written  in  pages 
of  stone  and  petrified  remains,  enable  the  geologist  to  recon- 
struct the  magnificent  epic  of  its  history,  as  the  learned  deci- 
pherer of  the  hieroglyphics  and  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Egypt 
and  Persepolis  is  able  to  exhume  from  the  tomb  of  past  ages 
the  traces  of  an  extinct  civilisation. 

Scarcely  any  branch  of  natural  history  is  more  interesting 
than  that  which  treats  of  the  formation  of  our  earth -rind ;  but 
undoubtedly  the  most  important  question  which  geology  is  called 
upon  to  solve  is,  whether  the  conflicting  powers  of  fire,  water, 
and  air  have  evermore  been  acting  and  reacting  upon  each 
other  in  blind  confusion,  building  and  destroying  in  chaotic 
and  fortuitous  anarchy,  or  whether,  from  the  first  moment  that 
their  strife  began,  their  movements  have  constantly  been 
directed  by  a  higher  hand,  and  rendered  subservient  to  the 
establishment  and  progressive  development  of  organic  life  ? 

The  answer  cannot  for  an  instant  be  doubtful.  Every  chapter, 
every  page  of  the  annals  of  our  globe,  affords  us  the  most  con- 
vincing proofs  that  the  elementary  forces  have  ever  been  the 
docile  instruments  of  a  superior  Power  ;  that,  long  before  organic 
life  appeared  on  earth,  fire  and  water  were  busy  preparing  for 
its  future  residence. 

On  the  hard  impenetrable  rock  nothing  grows  but  a  lowly 
race  of  lichens  and  mosses,  while  all  plants  of  a  higher  order 
absolutely  require  a  loose  soil  for  the  insertion  of  their  roots  and 
the  supply  of  an  adequate  amount  of  nourishment. 

On  examining  the  structure  of  the  earth,  we  find  how  much 
the  high  mountain-chains  have  contributed  to  the  formation  of 
considerable  tracts  of  fertile  land.  On  their  naked  brows  the 
disintegrating  power  of  winter  acts  with  the  greatest  energy. 
There  also  the  clouds  chiefly  concentrate  their  vapours,  there 
they  condense  most  frequently  into  snow  or  rain,  and  there  the 


FORMATION   OF   ALLUVIAL   PLAINS.  39 

flowing  waters  carry  the  spoils  of  winter  most  violently  along 
in  their  precipitous  course.  Thus,  in  those  elevated  regions, 
new  surfaces  of  solid  rock  are  constantly  exposed  to  the  cor- 
roding atmosphere,  and  thus  the  first  alluvial  plains  on  which  a 
more  luxuriant  vegetation  could  arise,  were  formed  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  out  of  the  wrecks  and  ruins  of  their  peaks. 

According  to  a  universal  hydrostatic  law,  the  velocity  at 
the  bottom  of  a  stream  is  everywhere  less  than  in  any  part 
above  it,  and  is  greatest  at  the  surface.  The  superficial  particles 
in  the  middle  of  the  stream  also  move  more  swiftly  than  those  at 
the  sides.  This  retardation  of  the  lowest  and  lateral  currents  is 
produced  by  friction,  and  when  the  velocity  is  sufficiently  great, 
the  soil  composing  the  sides  and  bottom  gives  way.  A  velocity 
of  three  inches  per  second  at  the  bottom  is  ascertained  to  be 
sufficient  to  tear  up  fine  clay ;  six  inches  per  second  fine  sand ; 
twelve  inches  per  second  fine  gravel ;  and  three  feet  per  second 
stones  of  the  size  of  an  egg. 

We  can  thus  easily  understand  how  mountain-torrents  de- 
scending with  great  velocity  are  able  to  sweep  along  vast 
quantities  of  gravel,  sand,  and  mud ;  but  a  question  naturally 
arises,  how  the  more  tranquil  rivers  of  the  valleys  and  plains, 
flowing  on  comparatively  level  ground,  can  remove  the  pro- 
digious burden  which  is  discharged  into  them  by  their 
numerous  tributaries,  and  by  what  means  they  are  enabled 
to  convey  the  whole  mass  to  the  sea  ?  If  they  had  not  this 
removing  power  their  channels  would  be  annually  choked  up, 
and  the  valleys  of  the  lower  country  and  the  plains  at  the  base 
of  mountain-chains  would  be  continually  strewed  over  with  frag- 
ments of  rock  and  sterile  sand.  But  this  evil  is  prevented  by 
a  general  law  regulating  the  conduct  of  running  water — that 
two  equal  streams  do  not,  when  united,  occupy  a  bed  of 
double  surface.  In  other  words,  when  several  rivers  unite  into 
one,  the  superficial  area  of  the  fluid  mass  is  far  less  than 
the  areas  previously  occupied  by  the  separate  streams.  The  col- 
lective waters,  instead  of  spreading  themselves  out  over  a  larger 
horizontal  space,  contract  themselves  into  a  column  of  which 
the  height  is  greater  relatively  to  its  breadth.  Hence,  a  smaller 
proportion  of  the  whole  is  retarded  by  friction  against  the 
bottom  and  sides  of  the  channel ;  and  in  this  manner  the  main 
current  is  often  accelerated  in  the  lower  country,  even  when  the 


40  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

slope  of  the  river's  bed  is  lessened.  It  not  unfrequently  hap- 
pens, that  two  large  rivers  after  their  junction  have  only  the 
surface  which  one  of  them  had  previously ;  and  even  in  some 
cases  their  united  waters  are  confined  in  a  narrower  bed  than 
each  of  them  filled  before.  By  this  beautiful  adjustment,  the 
water  which  drains  the  interior  country  is  made  continually  to 
occupy  less  room  as  it  approaches  the  sea,  and  thus  the  most 
valuable  part  of  our  continents — the  rich  deltas  and  great 
alluvial  plains — are  prevented  from  being  constantly  under 
water.* 

The  inequalities  of  the  earth's  surface,  the  elevation  of  vast 
tracts  of  country  many  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  the  deep  valleys  which  the  torrents  have  gradually  scooped 
out  in  the  flanks  of  the  mountains,  are  also  prominent  causes  of 
that  wonderful  variety  of  climate  which  gives  birth  to  a  no  less 
wonderful  variety  of  plants  and  animals. 

Fancy  the  mountains  brought  down  to  the  level  of  a  uniform 
plane  ;  no  peaks  soaring  aloft  into  the  regions  of  perpetual  snow, 
no  declivities  leading  the  wanderer  in  a  few  hours  from  Arctic 
coldness  to  the  genial  mildness  of  an  Italian  sky;  no  precipitous 
streams,  whose  foaming  waters  as  they  bound  along  first  reflect 
the  dark  pine  in  their  crystal  mirror,  then  the  sturdy  oak,  and 
finally  the  noble  chestnut  or  the  graceful  laurel ;  and  then  how 
monotonous  would  be  the  landscape,  how  uniform  the  character 
of  organic  life  over  vast  tracts  of  country  where  now  vegetation, 
thanks  to  the  perpetual  changes  of  elevation  and  aspect  of  the 
soil  on  which  it  grows,  is  seen  revelling  in  an  endless  multipli- 
city of  forms. 

The  actual  distribution  of  sea  and  land  over  the  surface  of  the 
globe  is  likewise  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  present  condi- 
tion of  organic  life.  If  the  ocean  were  considerably  smaller,  or  if 
Asia  and  America  were  concentrated  within  the  tropics,  the  tides, 
the  oceanic  currents,  and  the  meteorological  phenomena  on  which 
the  existence  of  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  depend, 
would  be  so  profoundly  modified,  that  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  man  could  have  existed,  and  absolutely  certain  that  he 
could  never  have  risen  to  a  high  degree  of  civilisation. 

The  dependence  of  human  progress  upon  the  existing  configu- 

*  Sir  Charles  Lyell's  Principles  of  Geology. 


GEADUATED   FOEMS   OF   LIFE.  41 

ration  of  the  globe  necessarily  leads  us  to  the  conclusion  that 
both  must  be  the  harmonious  work  of  the  same  Almighty  Power, 
and  that  a  divine  and  immutable  plan  has  from  all  eternity 
presided  over  the  destinies  of  our  planet.  It  is  almost  super- 
fluous to  point  out  how  largely  the  irregular  windings  and 
indentations  of  the  coasts,  the  numerous  islands  scattered  over 
the  face  of  the  waters,  the  promontories  stretching  far  away  into 
the  domains  of  the  sea,  and  the  gulfs  plunging  deeply  into  the 
bosom  of  the  land,  have  contributed  to  the  civilisation  of  the 
human  race  by  multiplying  its  points  of  contact  with  the  ocean, 
the  great  highway  of  nations. 

A  survey  of  the  petrifactions  enclosed  in  the  various  strata  of 
the  earth  adds  new  force  to  the  conviction,  that  one  grand  and 
uniform  plan  has  constantly  presided  over  all  the  periods  of  its 
history.  For  here  we  find  no  chaotic  confusion,  no  arbitrary 
oscillations  from  higher  to  lower,  or  from  lower  to  higher  grades 
of  existence  (as  would  undoubtedly  have  been  the  case  if  organic 
development  had  been  left  to  casual  influences),  but  a  gradual 
and  constant  progression  from  inferior  to  more  perfect  forms 
of  life. 

Thus,  in  the  oldest  strata  only  the  remains  of  the  lower  plants 
and  animals  are  found — of  algaB  and  lichens,  of  corals,  sea- 
urchins,  mollusks,  and  crustaceans. 

At  a  later  period  the  reign  of  the  vertebrated  animals  begins 
to  dawn  in  the  fishes.  Then  the  reptiles  appear  in  gigantic 
forms,  as  tyrants  of  the  coasts  and  the  lagunes,  while  the  empire 
of  the  birds  and  quadrupeds  belongs  to  the  more  recent  forma- 
tions ;  and  man,  the  most  highly  gifted  of  all  the  created  beings 
we  know  of,  appears  last  upon  the  scene. 

Throughout  these  vast  epochs  of  time,  numberless  species  of 
vegetable  and  animal  life  are  doomed  to  perish,  but  they  are 
constantly  replaced  by  other  and  more  perfect  forms ;  we  see 
constant  changes,  a  constant  decline  and  death,  but  also  a  con- 
stant birth  and  resurrection,  a  new  life  perpetually  springing 
forth  from  the  ruins  of  the  past.  How  perfect  must  have  been 
the  plan  which  has  thus,  through  unnumbered  ages,  constantly 
maintained  the  balance  between  the  changes  and  revolutions  of 
the  earth-rind,  and  the  eternal  progress  of  the  organic  world  ! 

The  elementary  powers  of  fire  and  water  might  have  continued 
their  strife  for  ever,  and  yet  the  higher  grades  of  animal  life 


42  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

could  not  have  been  called  into  existence  if  vegetable  life, 
favoured  by  peculiar  atmospherical  conditions,  had  not  previously 
cleansed  the  air  of  the  pernicious  gases  with  which  it  was  satu- 
rated during  the  early  period  of  our  earth's  history. 

The  ocean  then  rolled  its  waves  over  a  far  greater  surface  than 
at  present,  for  the  large  masses  of  land  which  now  cover  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  northern  hemisphere  were  then  still  reposing 
under  the  waters,  which  only  appeared  speckled  here  and  there 
with  low  and  comparatively  insignificant  islands.  Thus  a  mild 
oceanic  climate  reigned  far  to  the  north,  and  its  moist  and 
genial  breath  decked  with  a  verdant  robe  even  Spitzbergen 
and  Bear  Island,  where  now  winter  with  all  his  horrors  holds 
undisputed  sway  over  the  ice-bound  soil. 

Besides  moisture  and  warmth,  the  immense  quantities  of  car- 
bonic acid  which  was  at  that  time  mixed  with  the  atmosphere, 
contributed  to  promote  vegetation ;'  for  this  gas,  so  deleterious 
to  man  and  to  the  higher  animals,  constitutes,  as  is  well  known, 
the  chief  food  of  plants,  which  have  the  power  of  separating  it 
into  its  constituent  elements — oxygen  and  carbon,  restoring  the 
former  to  the  air,  and  forming  out  of  the  latter  the  greater  part 
of  their  solid  structure. 

The  immensity  of  the  coal-fields  affords  convincing  proof  of 
the  abundance  of  carbonic  acid  which  filled  the  air  at  that 
primeval  epoch,  for  before  its  carbon  became  condensed  by 
vegetation,  it  evidently  must  have  existed  in  a  gaseous  state ; 
and  thus  also  we  see  that  the  forests  of  this  carboniferous  period 
first  paved  the  way  for  a  higher  development  of  animal  life, 
by  purifying  the  air  and  substituting  oxygen  for  the  deleterious 
vapours  with  which  it  was  loaded. 

Although  the  vegetable  remains  which  constitute  coal  are 
mostly  in  such  a  state  of  compression  or  transformation  that  no 
trace  of  the  original  texture  remains,  yet  the  specimens  which 
one  is  able  to  distinguish  from  the  mass  plainly  bear  the  cha- 
racter of  a  swampy  vegetation,  and  show  that  they  must  have 
grown  in  submerged  or  at  least  extremely  humid  situations, 
analogous  to  those  in  which  the  present  peat  or  turf  formation 
takes  place. 

These  relics  of  an  extinct  world  chiefly  consist  of  cryptogamous 
or  non-flowering  plants,  such  as  arborescent  ferns,  and  reed-like 
calamites,  stigmarias  and  lepidodendra,  along  with  a  few  palms 


DURATION   OF   THE    COAL-FORMING   AGES.  43 

and  first ;  but  the  beautiful  and  various  forms  of  the  dicotyledo- 
nous plants,  which  constitute  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  Flora 
of  the  present  day,  were  totally  wanting  in  the  swampy  forests 
of  the  carboniferous  period,  which,  in  spite  of  their  amazing 
luxuriance  of  growth,  had  but  a  monotonous  and  melancholy 
character.  No  warm-blooded  quadruped  enjoyed  their  shade, 
no  bird  enlivened  them  with  his  song.  Their  awful  silence  was 
only  interrupted  by  the  tones  of  inanimate  nature,  the  roaring 
of  the  sea  against  the  low  beach,  or  the  moaning  of  the  wind  in 
their  feathery  fronds.  But  who  knows  whether  spirits  hovering 
over  their  dreary  expanse  may  not  have  whispered  to  each  other 
of  the  nobler  creation  for  which  they  paved  the  way ! 

The  great  uniformity  of  climate  which  then  reigned  over  the 
globe  caused  at  the  same  time  a  wonderful  uniformity  of  vege- 
tation in  its  various  zones.  In  the  eastern  as  in  the  western 
hemisphere,  between  the  tropics  and  beyond  the  Arctic  circle, 
wherever  coal  has  been  deposited  the  naturalist  meets  with  the 
same  forms,  often  even  with  the  same  species  of  plant. 

The  space  of  time  required  for  the  formation  of  the  coal-fields 
is  as  immeasurable  as  the  countless  millions  of  miles  that  sepa- 
rate us  from  Sirius. 

We  know  by  experience  how  thin  the  sheet  of  humus  is 
which  the  annual  leaf-fall  of  our  forests  or  turf-plants  produces, 
and  how  many  decenniums  must  pass  ere  one  single  inch  of  solid 
residuum  is  gained.  But  there  are  many  coal-strata  twenty  to 
thirty  feet  thick ;  and  if  we  consider  besides  the  mighty  pressure 
of  the  superincumbent  rocks  which  store  them  in  the  smallest 
compass,  we  cannot  possibly  doubt  that  one  such  stratum  must 
have  required  thousands  of  years  for  its  formation.  Our  wonder 
increases  when  we  reflect  that,  in  many  carboniferous  basins  no 
less  than  a  hundred  thick  and  thin  seams  of  coal  alternate  with 
layers  of  sandstone  and  shale,  so  that  the  reckoning  would  swell 
to  millions,  were  we  able  to  fathom  the  ages  of  their  successive 
growth. 

Thus,  for  instance,  at  Sheriff  Hill,  near  Newcastle,  we  find  eight 
strata  of  coal  of  a  joint  thickness  of  thirty-three  feet  and  a  half, 
but  these  are  separated  by  intervening  stone  strata  of  an  average 
thickness  of  from  forty  to  sixty  feet,  so  that  the  entire  thickness 
of  these  coal  measures  amounts  to  345  feet. 

But  even  these  coal-bearing  strata  form  but  a  small  part  of 


44  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE.     . 

the  whole  carboniferous  system,  whose  successive  stages  (lower 
carboniferous  shale,  carboniferous  limestone,  millstone  grit,  coal- 
measures,  upper  coal  grits,  lower  new  red  sandstone)  frequently 
measure  no  less  than  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet  in  thickness  ;  or 
even  as  in  South  Wales,  Nova  Scotia,  and  near  Saarbruck,  13,000, 
14,000,  and  20,000  feet !  The  wings  of  fancy  fail  to  carry  us 
over  the  vast  chasm  which  separates  the  first  of  these  deposits 
from  the  last ;  and  yet  the  whole  system  itself  is  but  a  link  in 
the  chain  of  successive  formations  of  which  the  earth-rind,  as 
far  as  we  are  able  to  sound  its  depth,  is  composed. 

Truly  man  is  but  the  creature  of  a  day,  and  yet  it  is  for  him 
that  the  primeval  forests  grew,  that  the  mighty  ferns  waved 
their  fronds  in  the  desert  air,  and  that  the  marshy  plants  spread 
their  succulent  leaves  and  stems,  unnumbered  ages  before  he 
was  to  appear  upon  the  scene. 

The  alternating  strata  of  coal  and  stone  of  which  the  carbo- 
niferous system  consists,  can  hardly  be  explained  in  any  other 
manner  than  by  a  general  slow  subsidence  of  those  coasts  on 
which  the  vegetation  flourished,  alternating  with  periods  of  rest. 

During  an  epoch  of  subsidence,  the  humus-layer  formed  by 
the  deposits  of  ages  of  forest  growth  was  inundated,  and  gradu- 
ally became  covered  with  a  system  of  sand  or  mud,  upon  which 
in  the  following  period  of  repose  a  new  swampy  vegetation  could 
arise  and  continue  to  flourish  until  a  new  subsidence  once  more 
whelmed  it  beneath  the  waters.  Thus  gradually  coal  followed 
upon  sand,  or  sand  upon  coal,  until  the  whole  mighty  series  was 
built  up ! 

Although  all  coal-fields  must  have  originally  been  formed  in 
horizontal  or  slightly  undulating  situations,  yet  in  many  cases 
they  have  undergone  enormous  derangements  from  the  subsequent 
action  of  volcanic  powers.  Thus,  in  the  Belgian  carboniferous 
formation,  the  strata  are  not  only  violently  contorted,  but  often 
elevated  through  an  angle  greater  than  a  right  angle,  and  are 
thus  actually  inverted,  so  that  the  basin -shaped  depressions  in 
which  the  coal  occurs  are  twisted  out  of  place,  and  the  whole 
geology  of  the  district  apparently  thrown  into  confusion. 

Faults  are  in  fact  so  common  in  coal-strata,  that  they  are  but 
rarely  missing.  They  occur  in  every  possible  dimension,  so  that 
sometimes  the  severed  parts  of  a  field  have  been  displaced  many 
hundred  feet  from  their  original  position. 


THE   COAL-FIELDS.  45 

One  can  easily  conceive  the  difficulties  which  these  disruptions 
frequently  throw  into  the  miner's  way,  who,  in  following  what  he 
considers  a  valuable  seam  of  coal,  is  suddenly  stopped  by  coming 
in  contact  with  a  fault,  and  finds  the  coal  shifted  several  yards 
above  or  below,  or  even  completely  lost. 

On  the  other  hand  they  are  productive  of  considerable  advan- 
tages, for  by  intersecting  a  large  field  of  coal  in  all  directions, 
and  by  the  clayey  contents  which  fill  up  the  crack  accompany- 
ing the  fault,  they  become  coffer-dams,  which  prevent  the  body 
of  water  accumulated  in  one  part  of  the  field  from  flowing  into 
any  opening  which  might  be  made  in  it  from  another.  This 
separation  of  the  coal-field  into  small  areas  is  also  important  in 
case  of  fire,  for  in  this  case  the  combustion  is  prevented  from 
spreading  widely,  and  destroying,  as  it  would  otherwise  do,  the 
whole  of  the  seam  ignited. 

6  The  natural  disposition  of  coal  in  detached  portions,'  says 
the  author  of  an  excellent  article  in  the  c  Edinburgh  Eeview,'  * 
'  is  not  simply  a  phenomenon  of  geology,  but  it  also  bears  upon 
national  considerations.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  natural  dis- 
position is  that  which  renders  the  fuel  most  accessible  and  most 
easily  mined.  Were  the  coal  situated  at  its  normal  geological 
depth,  that  is,  supposing  the  strata  to  be  all  horizontal  and  un- 
disturbed or  upheaved,  it  would  be  far  below  human  reach. 
Were  it  deposited  continuously  in  one  even  superficial  layer,  it 
would  have  been  too  readily,  and  therefore  too  quickly,  mined, 
and  all  the  superior  qualities  would  be  wrought  out  and  only 
the  inferior  left ;  but  as  it  now  lies  it  is  broken  up  by  geological 
disturbances  into  separate  portions,  each  defined  and  limited 
in  area,  each  sufficiently  accessible  to  bring  it  within  man's 
reach  and  labour,  each  manageable  by  mechanical  arrangements, 
and  each  capable  of  gradual  excavation  without  being  subject  to 
sudden  exhaustion.  Selfish  plundering  is  partly  prevented  by 
natural  barriers,  and  we  are  warned  against  reckless  waste  by 
the  comparative  thinness  of  coal-seams,  as  well  as  by  the 
ever  augmenting  difficulty  of  working  them  at  increased  depths. 
By  the  separation  of  seams  one  from  another,  and  by  varied 
intervals  of  waste  sandstones  and  shales,  such  a  measured  rate  of 
mining  is  necessitated  as  precludes  us  from  entirely  robbing  pos- 
terity of  the  most  valuable  mineral  fuel,  while  the  fuel  itself  is 

*  Vol.  cxi.  p.  80. 


46  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATUEE. 

preserved  from  those  extended  fractures  and  crumblings  and 
falls,  which  would  certainly  be  the  consequence  of  largely  mining 
the  best  bituminous  coal,  were  it  aggregated  into  one  vast  mass. 
In  fact,  by  an  evident  exercise  of  forethought  and  benevolence  in 
the  Great  Author  of  all  our  blessings,  our  invaluable  fuel  has 
been  stored  up  for  us  in  deposits  the  most  compendious,  the 
most  accessible,  yet  the  least  exhaustible,  and  has  been 
locally  distributed  into  the  most  convenient  situations.  Our 
coal-fields  are  so  many  Bituminous  Banks,  in  which  there 
is  abundance  for  an  adequate  currency,  but  against  any  sudden 
run  upon  them  nature  has  interposed  numerous  checks ;  whole 
reserves  of  the  precious  fuel  are  always  locked  up  in  the  bank- 
cellar  under  the  invincible  protection  of  ponderous  stone-beds. 
It  is  a  striking  fact,  that  in  this  nineteenth  century,  after  so  long 
an  inhabitation  of  the  earth  by  man,  if  we  take  the  quantities  in 
the  broad  view  of  the  whole  known  coal-fields,  so  little  coal  has 
been  excavated,  and  that  there  remains  an  abundance  for  a  very 
remote  posterity,  even  though  our  own  best  coal-fields  may  be 
then  worked  out.' 

But  it  is  not  only  in  these  inexhaustible  supplies  of  mineral 
fuel  that  we  find  proofs  of  divine  foresight,  all  the  other 
treasures  of  the  earth-rind  equally  convince  us  of  the  intimate 
harmony  between  its  structure  and  the  wants  of  man.  Com- 
posed of  a  wonderful  variety  of  earths  and  ores,  it  contains 
in  inexhaustible  abundance  all  the  substances  he  requires  for 
the  attainment  of  a  higher  grade  of  civilisation.  It  is  for  his 
use  that  iron,  copper,  lead,  silver,  tin,  marble,  gypsum,  sulphur, 
rock-salt,  and  a  variety  of  other  minerals  and  metals,  have  been 
deposited  in  the  veins  and  crevices,  or  in  the  mines  and  quarries, 
of  the  subterranean  world.  It  is  for  his  benefit  that,  from  the 
decomposition  of  the  solid  rocks  results  that  mixture  of  earths 
and  alkalies,  of  marl,  lime,  sand,  or  chalk,  which  is  most  favour- 
able to  agriculture. 

It  is  for  him,  finally,  that,  filtering  through  the  entrails  of  the 
earth,  and  dissolving  salutary  substances  on  their  way,  the  ther- 
mal springs  gush  forth  laden  with  blessings  and  enriched  with 
treasures  more  inestimable  than  those  the  miner  toils  for. 

Supposing  man  had  never  been  destined  to  live,  we  well  may 
ask  why  all  those  gifts  of  nature — useless  to  all  living  beings  but 
to  him — why  those  vast  coal-fields,  those  beds  of  iron  ore,  those 


INFLUENCE    OF   SEASONS   ON   OKGANIC    LIFE.  47 

deposits  of  sulphur,  those  hygeian  fountains,  should  ever  have 
been  created  ?  Without  him  there  is  no  design,  no  purpose,  in 
their  existence ;  with  him  they  are  wonderful  sources  of  health 
or  necessary  instruments  of  civilisation  and  improvement.  Thus 
the  geological  revolutions  of  the  earth-rind  harmoniously  point 
to  man  as  to  its  future  lord ;  thus,  in  the  life  of  our  planet  and 
that  of  its  inhabitants,  we  everywhere  find  proofs  of  a  gigantic 
unity  of  plan,  embracing  unnumbered  ages  in  its  development 
and  progress. 

The  obliquity  of  the  earth's  axis  to  the  plane  of  its  orbit, 
through  which  in  its  annual  course  round  the  sun  each  pole  is 
alternately  presented  to  the  rays  of  the  great  luminary,  is  like- 
wise of  such  vast  importance  to  organic  life,  that  it  must  have 
been  from  the  beginning  established  with  a  view  to  the  place  we 
were  one  day  to  occupy  on  earth. 

Supposing  the  equator  of  our  globe  to  have  been  invariably 
exposed  to  the  vertical  sunbeams,  then  all  the  year  round  short 
March  or  September  days  would  have  fallen  to  the  share  of  the 
temperate  zones,  and  both  the  poles  would  have  been  plunged 
in  constant  darkness.  The  higher  latitudes,  covered  with  per- 
petual ice,  must  have  been  totally  uninhabitable,  and  the  nu- 
merous plants  which  require  the  summer's  heat  for  the  ripening 
of  their  fruits  must  have  been  banished  from  our  fields. 

The  perpetual  cold  of  the  poles  would  no  doubt  have  extended 
the  domains  of  ice  and  snow  far  beyond  their  present  boundaries, 
and  man  would  have  been  restricted  to  a  torrid  belt,  whose 
narrow  confines  would  have  condemned  him  for  ever  to  a  mere 
animal  existence. 

And  now  compare  reality  with  this  imaginary  picture,  and  see 
how  beautifully,  by  the  wanderings  of  the  sun  from  one  tropic  to 
the  other  in  his  apparent  annual  motion,  his  genial  warmth  is 
widely  distributed  over  the  earth ;  how  the  various  seasons — 
spring  with  his  blossoms,  summer  with  his  nourishing  corn, 
autumn  with  his  abundance  of  fruit,  and  winter  with  his  cheerful 
hearth — are  made  to  follow  each  other  in  charming  succession, 
and  to  enrich  the  intellectual  life  of  man  by  constantly  opening 
new  scenes  and  prospects  to  his  view.  It  was  only  thus  that  he 
could  become  master  of  the  earth  and  of  its  treasures,  and  that 
organic  life  could  develope  itself  in  countless  forms  up  to  the 
icy  poles. 


48  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATUEE. 

The  circumstance  that  the  fruits  of  the  earth  are  unequally 
distributed  over  its  surface,  that  each  zone,  each  country,  brings 
its  peculiar  produce  to  the  market  of  the  world,  is  likewise  of 
vast  importance  to  the  improvement  of  the  human  race.  If  man 
had  everywhere  found  united  in  a  small  space  all  that  is  neces- 
sary for  the  maintenance  and  enjoyment  of  life,  he  would  never 
have  emerged  from  the  low  condition  of  the  savage,  who  finds  all 
he  requires  for  the  gratification  of  his  simple  wants  in  his  native 
forest  or  in  the  neighbouring  sea. 

But,  with  a  wise  economy,  the  Almighty  has  given  to  one  land 
the  fruits  of  Ceres  and  to  another  mineral  wealth,  to  the  tropical 
regions  the  sugar-cane  and  the  coffee-tree,  to  Italy  the  silk- worm 
and  the  vine,  to  China  the  tea-plant,  to  the  frozen  north  its  huge 
cetaceans  and  costly  furs,  that  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  might 
be  united  by  the  bonds  of  commerce,  and  the  intellectual  powers 
of  man  roused  to  exertion  by  the  stimulus  of  want  or  the  love 
of  gain. 


49 


CHAPTER  VIT. 

- — — 

THE    CELLULAR    CONSTRUCTION    OF   PLANTS. 

Prodigious  Variety  of  Plants — The  Vegetable  Cell — Its  Metamorphoses-— Its 
Multiplication — Rapid  Growth  of  the  Lower  Plants — The  Mushrooms — The 
"Wonderful  Products  of  the  Vegetable  Cell— Magnificence  of  the  Vegetable 
World. 

THE  immense  variety  of  plants  which  decks  the  surface  of  our 
globe  is  one  of  the  great  wonders  of  creation.  Wherever  we 
wander,  on  the  margin  of  the  ocean  or  on  the  bleak  and  weather- 
beaten  mountains,  new  forms  of  vegetation  constantly  attract 
our  attention. 

Skirting  the  shores,  the  algre  wave  their  fronds  in  the  restless 
waters,  while  the  lichens  cover  the  naked  rocks  of  the  highlands 
with  their  thin  and  lively-coloured  patches.  The  rivers  and 
lakes  abound  with  green  filaments;  mould  spreads  over  putrefy- 
ing organic  substances ;  wood  crumbles  into  dust ;  the  potato, 
the  grape,  are  decomposed ;  and  all  these  phenomena  result 
from  the  development  and  rapid  multiplication  of  microscopical 
plants. 

A  cushion  of  soft  velvet  decks  the  bark  of  ancient  trees,  grey 
beards  hang  from  their  boughs,  and  parasitical  climbers  feed 
upon  their -juices.  Flowers  of  every  form  and  colour  adorn  the 
meadows,  clothe  the  brown  heaths  with  warmer  tints,  bloom 
out  of  ruins,  and  cover  even  the  dark  morass  with  a  garb  of 
beauty. 

With  every  change  of  climate  and  soil,  with  every  degree  of 
latitude,  nay,  from  mile  to  mile,  new  plants  make  their  appear- 
ance. The  mountain-sides  and  the  deep  valleys  have  their 
characteristic  vegetation,  and  sand,  granite,  chalk,  and  clay,  all 
nourish  different  herbs  and  trees. 

The  plants  exhibit  an  amazing  variety,  not  only  in  their 

E 


mental  unity  of  the  countless  members  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom must  disappear  when  we  come  to  examine  their  internal 
structure. 

For,  armed  with  the  microscope,  botanists  have  discovered  that 
every  vegetable  fabric  consists  simply  of  an  aggregation  of  cells 
or  closed  membranous  bags  or  vesicles,  and  their  unwearied 
observations  have  been  able  to  trace  the  gradual  change  of  this 
simple  elementary  form  into  every  variety  of  tissue,  fibre,  and 
vessel,  which  enters  into  the  organisation  of  the  most  compli- 
cated plants. 

The  permeable  cell-wall  absorbs  the  nutritious  fluids  with 
which  it  comes  into  contact,  and  these,  by  the  chemical  processes 
which  are  constantly  going  on  in  its  interior,  are  changed  into 
new  substances,  which  the  cell  partly  appropriates  to  its  own 
uses  and  partly  excretes,  so  as  to  be  able  to  absorb  fresh  fluids 
in  their  place.  The  constant  succession  of  these  simple  physical 
and  chemical  actions  forms  the  whole  life-history  of  the  indi- 
vidual cell — and  consequently  of  every  plant,  which,  however 
complicated  its  structure  may  appear,  is  after  all  but  an  aggre- 
gation of  cells. 

During  the  progress  of  growth  the  primordial  form  of  the 
originally  globular  cell  assumes  a  great  diversity  of  shape ;  it 
extends  in  length,  it  branches  out,  it  is  flattened  by  the  pressure 
of  its  neighbours,  or  compressed  into  a  many-sided  or  prismatic 
figure. 


TITE    VEGETABLE    CELL.  51 

Throughout  all  these  changes  the  cell-wall  may  retain  its 
original  thinness  and  transparency,  but  very  frequently  it 
becomes  thickened  and  opaque  by  the  successive  deposition  of  - 
layers  of  solid  matter,  while  at  the  same  time  its  fluid  con- 
tents disappear  and  its  individual  growth  is  at  an  end.  The 
thickening  is  generally  not  uniform  over  its  whole  surface, 
but  presents  frequent  interruptions,  so  that  the  cell  appears 
punctured  with  numerous  round  pores,  or  creviced,  or  covered 
with  a  network,  or  with  a  spirally  wound-up  band,  or  with 
a  succession  of  opaque  rings ;  and  from  all  these  modifica- 
tions of  solidification  and  growth  result  the  endless  varieties  of 
texture  which  we  admire  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  which 
must  appear  the  more  astonishing  when  we  consider  the  simple 
elementary  form  from  which  they  all  derive  their  origin. 

In  most  cases  the  growing  cells  multiply  by  duplicate  subdi- 
vision, each  half  increasing  in  length,  and  again  dividing  through 
a  transverse  partition,  or  else  new  cells  form  in  the  interior  of  a 
parent  cell  and  expanding  burst  open  the  shell  or  case  in  which 
they  were  contained.  Thus  the  growth  of  all  plants  proceeds 
by  a  constant  multiplication  of  cells  whose  number  frequently 
increases  to  an  incredible  extent  as  a  cubic  inch  of  soft  cellular 
parenchyma  contains  more  than  100,000,000  individual  cells. 
The  simplest  plants,  the  confervas,  algse,  lichens  and  mush- 
rooms, consist  only  of  soft  cellular  tissues,  and  in  these,  owing 
to  their  loose  nature,  growth  frequently  proceeds  with  a  most 
marvellous  celerity.  In  twenty-five  minutes  a  mushroom — 
the  Phallus  foetidus — shoots  up  three  inches  high,  and  in  ano- 
ther species — the  Bovista  gigantea — 20,000  new  cells  form  every 
minute,  so  that  in  a  single  night  it  swells  from  the  size  of  a 
pin's  head  to  that  of  a  large  pumpkin.  Thus  also  the  Nereo- 
cystis  lutkeana,  an  alga  occurring  on  the  north-west  coast  of 
America,  which  has  stems  resembling  whipcord,  three  hundred 
feet  in  length  and  terminating  with  a  bunch  of  leaves  each 
thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  is  but  the  produce  of  a  single  summer, 
so  that  it  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  one  might  see  it 
grow.  A  proper  seed  formation  does  not  take  place  in  these  in- 
ferior plants,  they  generally  multiply  by  the  emission  of  spores 
— simple  cells — which  are  often  generated  in  truly  incalculable 
numbers.  More  than  1 0,000,000  of  spores  have  been  found  in  a 
single  specimen  of  Eeticularia  maxima,  a  mushroom  growing  on 

E   2 


52  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

the  trunks  of  felled  trees — each  of  them  most  likely  able  to 
produce  a  new  individual ;  and  as  every  species  of  mushroom  or 
fungus  is  equally  productive  according  to  its  size,  we  can  easily 
understand  how  these  microscopical  germs  frequently  float  in  the 
air  in  countless  myriads,  until  the  casualties  of  wind  and  weather 
again  precipitate  them  upon  the  earth. 

The  well-known  instances  of  the  dry  rot  in  timber,  or  of  the 
potato  and  grape  diseases,  sufficiently  prove  how  disastrous  the 
enormous  reproductive  powers  of  the  fungi  may  become  when 
circumstances  favour  their  growth  ;  but  in  many  cases  they  are 
extremely  useful,  by  promoting  the  decomposition  of  decaying  or 
putrefying  vegetable  and  animal  substances,  and  thus  hastening 
their  transition  into  new  forms  of  life. 

The  structure  of  the  higher  order  of  plants,  such  as  have 
flowers  and  seeds,  is  far  more  complicated  than  that  of  these 
simple  forms  of  vegetation,  as  they  consist  not  merely  of  a  more 
or  less  closely  aggregated  or  firmly  woven  cellular  tissue,  but 
also  of  fibres  and  vessels  that  have  grown  out  of  that  elementary 
form,  and  minister  to  the  wants  of  a  more  complicated  organi- 
sation. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  properties  of  the  vegetable  cell  is 
its  power  of  elaborating  such  an  amazing  variety  of  products. 
It  receives  or  imbibes  but  few  substances  from  the  outer  world, 
water,  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  and  some  other  soluble  salts ;  but 
with  these  few  it  is  able  to  bring  forth  in  its  secret  laboratory 
all  that  can  gratify  the  eye,  the  smell,  or  the  taste  of  man. 

The  beautifully  tinted  juices  to  which  the  flowers  owe  their 
rainbow  variety  of  colours,  the  sweet  odours  with  which  they 
perfume  the  air,  the  gums,  the  balsams,  and  the  resins,  sugar 
and  starch,  india-rubber  and  gutta-percha,  medicines  and  poi- 
sons in  endless  profusion,  are  all  distilled  or  fabricated  by  the 
vegetable  cell. 

Even  the  humblest  lichen,  the  smallest  moss  which  clothes 
the  weatherbeaten  rock,  is  a  truly  miraculous  production  ;  how 
then  can  we  find  words  to  express  our  admiration  of  those 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  flowering  herbs,  shrubs,  and  trees, 
whose  endless  and  picturesque  variety  inspires  every  feeling- 
heart  with  delight  and  gratitude  ? 

While  the  northern  bard  praises  the  stately  magnificence  of 
the  oak,  the  Arabian  minstrel  sings  the  date-palm's  stately 


MAGNIFICENCE    OF    THE   VEGETABLE   WORLD.  53 

crown  ;  and  the  poets  of  all  lands  and  of  all  times  never  tune  their 
harps  to  sweeter  melodies  than  when  describing  in  rapturous 
strains  the  balmy  groves  or  the  verdant  meads  of  the  beloved 
country  of  their  birth. 

It  is  no  caprice  of  chance  or  blind  agency  of  mechanical  or 
physical  laws  which  has  so  wonderfully  decorated  the  earth,  and 
gifted  us  with  such  a  deep-felt  sympathy  with  the  charms  of 
the  vegetable  world. 

When  Nature  revives  in  spring,  and  thousands  of  birds  make 
the  woods  and  fields  resound  with  their  song,  then  also  a  voice 
awakens  in  our  heart  which  tells  us  that  all  these  lovely  scenes 
are  but  the  visible  revelation  of  an  invisible  (rod,  an  enchanted 
mirror  in  which  we  see  the  reflection  of  His  glory. 


54  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    ROOTS   OF   PLANTS. 

The  Roots  of  the  Algae,  of  the  Zostera  marina,  of  the  Sand-reed,  of  the  South 
African  Creepers — The  Roots  of  the  Forest  Trees — Aerial  Roots  of  the  Man- 
groves— Their  Influence  on  the  Formation  of  Tropical  Deltalands — Radical 
Filaments — Spongioles —Properties  of  Vegetable  Mould — The  Fertilising  In- 
fluence of  Winter. 

•EXPOSED  to  the  influences  of  every  climate  and  destined  to  grow 
in  every  soil,  children  of  the  sea,  the  dry  land,  and  the  air,  the 
plants  needed  a  wonderful  pliability  of  organisation  to  be  able 
to  adapt  themselves  to  the  numberless  modifications  of  the  ex- 
ternal world,  resulting  from  their  universal  distribution  over  the 
surface  of  the  globe. 

As  each  animal  is  armed  at  all  points  against  hostile  attacks, 
or  provided  with  all  the  organs  it  requires  for  waging  the  battle 
of  life,  thus  also  every  plant,  wherever  it  may  grow,  has  been 
endowed  with  the  means  of  maintaining  its  existence  against  a 
host  of  adverse  influences ;  and  each  of  its  parts  and  organs — its 
roots,  its  stem,  its  leaves,  its  flowers,  its  fruit — is  in  every  case 
a  masterpiece  of  adaptation  to  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
is  destined  to  flourish. 

Thus  also  the  study  of  each  vegetable  organ  gives  the  philo- 
sophical observer  equal  opportunities  of  admiring  the  profound 
wisdom  which  presided  over  its  formation,  and  in  his  eyes  the 
perfection  of  nature  reveals  itself  as  eloquently  in  the  homely 
root  as  in  the  gayest  blossom  expanding  its  gorgeous  colours  to 
the  sun. 

See  the  vile  seaweed,  exposed  to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
tides;  fixed  on  a  solid  rock,  it  is  unable  to  plunge  its  roots  into 
the  stone  to  which  it  adheres ;  and  yet  they  are  such  excellent 
holdfasts,  that  even  a  violent  storm  is  hardly  able  to  sever  the 
connection,  and  cast  the  plant  ashore  like  a  ship  torn  from  its 


MARINE    PLANTS.  55 

anchors.  Frequently  a  simple  conical  disc  suffices  to  bind  the 
weatherbeaten  alga  to  its  native  cliff;  and  as  the  hardy  plant 
advances  in  growth,  and  as  new  props  are  required  to  support 
the  additional  weight,  the  branches  of  the  root  lengthen,  and 
others  are  gradually  added,  till  a  compact  mass  of  interwoven 
fibres  is  formed,  each  of  which  takes  a  separate  gripe  of  the  rock 
by  the  disc  at  its  extremity,  so  that  their  united  powers  of  re- 
sistance are  able  to  bid  defiance  to  the  swelling  flood. 

The  Laminariae,  or  Oar-weeds  of  our  coasts,  with  their  long 
broad  leaves  cloven  into  a  great  number  of  ribbon-like  segments, 
sufficiently  prove  the  strength  of  an  adherence  which  enables 
such  vegetable  masses  to  bid  defiance  to  the  rocking  waves ;  but 
what  are  these  to  the  submarine  forests  in  the  channels  of  Tierra 
del  Fuego,  where  the  Macrocystis  pyrifera  rises  from  depths  of 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet,  and  then  con- 
tinues to  float  many  fathoms  on  the  surface  of  the  sea  ! 

f  I  know  few  things,'  says  Mr.  Darwin,  'more  surprising  than 
to  see  this  plant  growing  and  flourishing  amidst  those  great 
breakers  of  the  western  ocean,  which  no  mass  of  rock,  let  it  be 
ever  so  hard,  can  long  resist.  The  stem  is  round,  slimy,  and 
smooth,  and  seldom  has  a  diameter  of  so  much  as  an  inch.  A 
few  taken  together  are  sufficiently  strong  to  support  the  weight 
of  the  large  loose  stones  to  which  in  the  inland  channels  they 
grow  attached,  and  some  of  these  stones  are  so  heavy  that,  when 
drawn  to  the  surface,  they  can  scarcely  be  lifted  into  a  boat  by 
one  person.'  Fancy  how  beautifully  calculated  the  strength  of 
the  resistance  must  be  to  withstand  the  vast  strain  of  such  a  sea  ! 
No  doubt  many  a  Macrocystis  is  torn  from  the  spot  on  which  it 
grew  and  cast  into  the  open  ocean ;  but  in  spite  of  storm  and 
breakers,  the  species  maintains  itself  from  century  to  century, 
for  the  strength  with  which  it  clings  to  the  naked  rock,  and  faces 
the  fury  of  the  elements,  has  been  poised  by  the  wisdom  of  a  God. 

Very  different  from  the  roots  of  the  rock-bound  Alga?  are 
those  of  the  Zostera  marina,  or  Grass-wrack,  a  flowering  sea- 
plant,  which  forms  extensive  submarine  meadows  on  sandy 
shores.  On  this  loose  soil  a  simple  superficial  attachment  would 
have  been  of  no  avail,  but  the  long  creeping  stems  of  the  Grass- 
wrack  send  forth  long  roots  at  every  joint,  which,  plunging 
deep  into  the  sand,  are  most  admirably  adapted  for  securing  a 
firm  establishment  on  this  unstable  foundation. 


56  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

As  under  the  shelter  of  the  Laminaria3rthus  also  a  host  of 
marine  animals  and  plants  live  and  flourish  under  the  green 
carpet  of  the  submerged  meadows  of  the  Zostera,  and  thus  in 
both  cases  the  existence  of  a  little  world  ultimately  depends 
upon  the  peculiar  structure  of  the  roots  of  the  protecting 
plant. 

Ascending  from  these 'submerged  forests  and  meads  to  the 
sand-dunes  which  on  many  flat  coasts  oppose  an  invincible  barrier 
to  the  stormy  ocean,  we  here  also  find  plants  eminently  adapted, 
by  the  structure  of  their  roots,  for  flourishing  on  a  loose  and 
drifting  soil.  Of  these  the  sand-reed  (Ammophila  arundinacea), 
which  naturally  grows  on  the  sandy  shores  of  Europe,  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable.  Its  roots  penetrate  to  a  considerable 
depth,  ramifying  in  all  directions  and  forming  a  complete  system 
of  rope-work,  which  soon  binds  together  the  loosest  sands  and 
firmly  attaches  the  plant,  while  its  strong  tall  leaves  protect  the 
surface  of  the  soil  from  drought,  and  afford  shelter  to  small 
plants,  which  soon  grow  between  the  reeds,  and  gradually  form 
a  new  green  surface  on  the  bed  of  sand. 

But  for  the  sand-reed  the  sea-winds  would  long  since  have 
wafted  the  drift-sand  of  the  dunes  far  into  the  interior  of  the 
country,  and  converted  many  a  fruitful  acre  into  a  waste ;  but 
that  invaluable  grass  opposes  its  stubborn  resistance  to  the  most 
furious  gale.  Like  a  radical  democrat,  the  wind  would  willingly 
reduce  all  to  one  common  level,  but  the  Ammophila,  an  obstinate 
conservative,  opposes  an  indefatigable  resistance  to  its  fury,  and, 
after  a  war  of  centuries,  still  lines  the  flat  coast  with  long  undu- 
lating chains  of  protecting  sand-hills. 

In  the  deserts  and  steppes  of  South  Africa  we  also  find  a 
number  of  plants  peculiarly  fitted,  by  the  formation  of  their 
roots,  for  the  arid  soil  on  which  they  grow  and  flourish.  Thus 
creepers  abound,  which,  having  their  roots  buried  far  beneath 
the  surface,  feel  but  little  the  effects  of  the  scorching  sun.  Those 
having  tuberous  roots  are  particularly  abundant,  a  structure 
evidently  intended  to  supply  nutriment  and  moisture  to  the 
plant  when,  during  the  long  droughts,  they  can  be  obtained 
from  no  other  source. 

In  his  description  of  the  Kalahari  desert,  Dr.  Livingstone 
mentions  one  of  these  plants,  named  Leroshua  by  the  native 
Bechuanas.  It  has  linear  leaves  and  a  stalk  not  thicker  than  a 


THE    ROOTS    OF    THE    FOREST    TREES.  57 

crow's  quill ;  but,  on  digging  down  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches 
beneath,  the  root  enlarges  to  a  tuber  often  as  big  as  the  head  of 
a  young  child,  which,  on  the  rind  being  removed,  is  found  to 
be  a  mass  of  cellular  tissue  filled  with  fluid  much  like  that  in  a 
yonng  turnip.  Owing  to  the  depth  beneath  the  surface  at  which 
it  is  found,  it  is  generally  deliciously  cool  and  refreshing.  Thus, 
even  in  the  desert,  the  bounty  of  the  Almighty  not  only  disposes 
the  organisation  of  the  plants  so  as  best  to  secure  their  own 
existence,  but  also  raises  them  as  sustenance  for  man  ;  for  with- 
out their  succulent  roots  these  barren  and  poverty-stricken  lands 
would  be  all  but  uninhabitable. 

The  creeping  plants  of  the  desert  serve,  moreover,  a  double 
purpose ;  for  besides  their  use  as  food,  they  fix,  by  means  of  the 
extensive  ramifications  of  their  roots,  the  constantly  shifting 
sands,  thus  rendering  services  similar  to  those  of  the  sand-reed 
on  the  dunes  along  the  sandy  coasts  of  the  North  Sea. 

Those  trees  which  naturally  grow  in  situations  where  they  are 
exposed  to  all  the  fury  of  the  winds  are  invariably  provided  with 
roots  of  a  corresponding  power  of  resistance.  On  the  brow  of 
the  northern  hills  the  centenary  fir  defies  the  wintry  blast;  his 
strong  vertical  root  dives  deep  into  the  crevices  of  the  soil,  or 
embraces  the  rock  with  sinewy  arms.  The  proud  columnar 
trunk,  with  its  vast  crown  of  foliage,  rocks  to  and  fro  in  the 
storm,  but  withstands  its  utmost  efforts.  The  noble  oak  also  is  a 
match  for  the  most  terrific  tempests,  until  the  decay  of  old  age 
has  eaten  its  way  into  the  trunk  or  roots,  and  undermined  the 
venerable  giant's  strength. 

The  large  high-stemmed  palms  penetrate,  while  germinating, 
to  a  depth  of  three  feet  before  the  roots  begin  to  spread,  while 
the  palms  of  lower  growth,  that  do  not  require  so  firm  an 
anchorage  in  the  soil,  send  forth  their  roots  near  to  the  surface. 
When  we  consider  that  the  cocoa-nut  tree,  which  bears  its  mag- 
nificent tuft  of  colossal  fronds  and  heavy  racemes  on  the  top  of 
a  slender  shaft  one  hundred  feet  high,  thrives  best  on  the  sea- 
shore, where  the  tropical  hurricane  has  full  play  for  its  utmost 
fury,  we  can  form  some  idea  of  the  admirable  foresight  which 
gave  its  roots  the  necessary  strength  to  resist  the  leverage  of  so 
prodigious  a  weight. 

Trees  with  more  superficial  roots,  such  as  the  common  pine, 
which  scarcely  penetrates  into  the  soil  to  a  greater  depth  than 


\ 
58  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATUEE. 

two  feet,  grow  either  in  less  windy  situations,  or  find  mutual 
protection  in  the  social  life  of  the  forest.  Surrounded  by 
comrades  which  break  the  power  of  the  storm,  their  topmost 
crowns  alone  bend  under  the  blast,  while  the  lower  branches 
remain  unmoved  :  above,  the  legendary  wild  huntsman  of  the 
woods  may  rave  in  pursuit  of  his  phantom  game ;  below,  the 
wanderer  threads  his  way  through  the  green  arcades,  and 
scarcely  feels  the  motion  of  the  air. 

In  the  tropical  forests  the  griping  power  of  the  roots  is  fre- 
quently assisted  by  the  climbing  plants,  which,  like  the  rigging 
of  a  ship,  bind  or  unite  as  it  were  a  large  number  of  trees  into 
a  single  body.  While  in  the  East  Indian  thickets  the  ratans 
ascend  the  highest  summits  of  the  forest,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
spread  out  their  palm-like  topes  in  the  sunshine  over  the  waving 
sea  of  verdure  beneath,  the  paulinias,  the  bannisterias,  the  big- 
nonias,  and  many  other  allied  creepers,  climb  from  branch  to 
branch  in  the  Brazilian  woods,  until  their  blossoms  mix  with  the 
crowns  of  the  giant  trees.  Often  three  or  four  of  these  bush- 
ropes,  like  strands  in  a  cable,  join  tree  to  tree;  others,  descend- 
ing from  on  high,  take  root  as  soon  as  their  extremity  touches 
the  ground  ;  while  others  send  out  parallel,  oblique,  horizontal, 
and  perpendicular  shoots  in  all  directions,  forming  so  intricate  a 
network,  that  in  this  maze  of  vegetation  it  is  utterly  impossible 
to  discover  the  trailing  stem  of  the  liana,  whose  flowers  are  seen- 
expanding  above  in  all  their  purple  beauty.  Frequently  trees 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  high,  uprooted  by  the  storm  or  under- 
mined by  the  swelling  river,  are  stopped  in  their  fall  by  these 
amazing  cables  of  nature,  and  are  thus  still  enabled  to  send  forth 
vigorous  shoots,  though  far  from  their  perpendicular,  with  their 
trunks  inclined  to  every  degree  from  the  meridian  to  the  hori- 
zon. Their  heads  remain  firmly  supported  by  the  bush  ropes, 
many  of  their  roots  soon  refix  themselves  in  the  earth,  and  fre- 
quently a  strong  shoot  will  sprout  out  perpendicularly  from  near 
the  root  of  the  reclined  trunk,  and  in  time  become  a  stately 
tree. 

In  several  plants  whose  original  roots  do  not  seem  adequate 
to  support  their  increasing  size,  or  which  grow  in  situations 
where  great  and  peculiar  powers  of  resistance  are  required,  new 
roots  issue  in  a  truly  wonderful  manner  from  the  stem  or  the 
lower  branches,  and,  fixing  themselves  in  the  ground,  serve  as 


MANGROVE    FORESTS.       *  59 

additional  props  to  the  weatherbeaten  trunk.  On  viewing  this 
miracle  of  nature,  one  might  almost  be  tempted  to  adopt  the 
belief  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  imagine  each  of  these  wonder- 
ful plants  to  be  animated  by  a  dryad,  directing  it  to  adopt  the 
best  means  for  securing  its  existence. 

Fringing  the  estuaries  of  rivers  or  the  shallow  lagoons  of  the 
tropical  zone,  and  incessantly  exposed  to  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the 
tides,  the  mangroves  would  hardly  have  been  able  to  maintain 
themselves  on  so  uncertain  a  soil,  if  the  extraordinary  growth  of 
their  roots  had  not  admirably  adapted  them  for  securing  a 
footing  on  the  unstable  brink  of  the  ocean. 

As  the  young  mangrove  grows  upwards,  pendulous  roots  issue 
from  the  trunk  and  inferior  branches,  and  ultimately  strike  into 
the  muddy  ground,  where  they  increase  to  the  thickness  of  a 
man's  leg ;  so  that  the  whole  has  the  appearance  of  a  complicated 
series  of  loops  and  arches  from  five  to  ten  feet  high,  supporting 
the  body  of  the  tree  like  so  many  artificial  stakes.  It  may  thus 
easily  be  imagined  what  dense  and  inextricable  thickets,  what  in- 
comparable breakwaters,  plants  like  these,  through  whose  mazes 
even  the  light-footed  Indian  can  only  penetrate  by  stepping 
from  root  to  root,  are  capable  of  forming. 

Where  plants  of  a  peculiar  growth  spread  over  large  tracts  of 
sea  or  land,  we  frequently  find  their  influence  extending  far 
beyond  the  limited  sphere  of  their  individual  life.  Thus  we  have 
seen  a  whole  little  world  of  animals  depend  upon  the  existence  of 
the  gigantic  fuci  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  have  noticed  the  im- 
portant agency  of  the  Ammophila  in  fixing  the  drift-sands  and 
securing  large  tracts  of  fertile  country,  and  thus  also  we  find 
that  the  peculiar  growth  of  the  mangroves  has  a  vast  influence  in 
promoting  the  increase  of  land  at  the  expense  of  the  maritime 
domain.  Their  matted  roots  stem  the  flow  of  the  waters,  and 
retaining  the  earthy  particles  that  sink  to  the  bottom  between 
them,  gradually  raise  the  level  of  the  soil.  As  this  new  forma- 
tion progresses,  thousands  of  seeds  begin  to  germinate  upon  its 
muddy  foundation,  thousands  of  cables  descend  still  further  to 
consolidate  it,  and  thus  foot  by  foot,  year  after  year,  the  man- 
groves extend  their  empire  and  encroach  upon  the  sea.  The 
enormous  deltas  of  many  tropical  rivers  chiefly  owe  their  im- 
mense development  to  the  unceasing  expansion  of  these  lit- 
toral woods,  whose  influence  deserves  the  full  attention  of  the 


60  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

geologist  when  describing  the  ancient  and  eternal  strife  between 
the  ocean  and  the  land. 

A  similar  formation  of  pendulous  roots  distinguishes  the  screw- 
pines,  those  singular  plants  whose  foliage  resembles  that  of  the 
palm  or  bromelia,  while  their  fruits  remind  one  of  the  cones 
of  the  fir-tree  or  the  pine.  The  older  trees  which  require  this 
additional  support  send  forth  their  aerial  roots  in  so  opportune  a 
manner  that  one  might  suppose  them  gifted  with  a  peculiar 
instinct.  For  if  the  screw-pine,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  reclines 
to  one  side,  the  pendulous  roots  not  only  exclusively  grow  in  this 
direction,  which  chiefly  requires  to  be  propped,  but  seem  even 
able  to  choose  the  most  proper  places  for  their  attachment. 

The  screw-pines  grow  on  a  sandy  as  well  as  on  a  rocky  soil, 
for  their  roots  spread  out  in  considerable  ramifications,  and 
penetrate  into  the  smallest  cavities  or  crevices  of  the  stony 
ground.  They  frequently  grow  in  fantastic  forms  on  the  brinks 
of  precipices  overhanging  the  abyss,  and  then  again  twist 
their  branches  into  a  vertical  position.  Content  with  the  most 
meagre  soil,  their  frugality  and  the  ease  with  which  they 
strike  root  render  them  extremely  serviceable  in  paving  the 
way  for  a  more  luxurious  vegetation  on  rocks  or  sandy  shores. 
Thus  they  are  widely  spread  on  low  islands  and  coasts 
throughout  the  whole  tropical  zone,  where  the  lively  green  of 
their  long  ribbon-like  leaves  and  the  glowing  crimson  of  their 
fruits  contribute  in  a  great  degree  to  the  beauty  of  the  land- 
scape. 

But  of  all  the  plants  which  support  themselves  by  means  of 
pendulous  roots,  there  is  none  more  remarkable  than  the  beau- 
tiful and  stately  Banyan,  the  vegetable  wonder  of  India.  Each 
of  these  marvellous  trees  is  in  itself  a  grove,  and  some  of  them 
are  of  astonishing  size,  as  they  are  continually  increasing,  and, 
contrary  to  most  other  animal  and  vegetable  productions,  seem 
to  be  exempted  from  decay,  for  every  branch  from  the  main  body 
throws  out  its  own  roots,  at  first  in  small  tender  fibres,  several 
yards  from  the  ground,  which  continually  grow  thicker,  until  by 
a  gradual  descent  they  reach  its  surface,  where,  striking  in,  they 
increase  to  a  large  trunk  and  become  a  parent  tree,  throwing 
out  new  branches  from  the  top.  These  in  time  suspend  their 
roots,  and  receiving  nourishment  from  the  earth,  swell  into 
trunks,  and  send  forth  other  branches,  thus  continuing  in  a  state 


THE    BANYAN    TREE.  61 

of  progression  so  long  as  the  first  parent  of  them  all  supplies 
her  sustenance.  No  wonder  that  the  pious  Hindoos  are  par- 
ticularly fond  of  this  glorious  tree,  and  that  they  consider  its 
long  duration,  its  outstretching  arms,  and  overshadowing  benefi- 
cence as  emblems  of  the  Deity,  of  whose  wisdom  and  power  it  is 
one  of  the  most  striking  monuments. 

Admirable  as  holdfasts  or  anchors,  whose  iron  grasp  enables 
the  giants  of  the  forest  to  brave  the  storm,  the  roots  are  equally 
remarkable  as  the  organs  which  extract  the  nutritious  particles 
from  the  soil  and  provide  the  plant  with  its  necessary  food. 
All  our  forest  trees  germinate  with  a  chief  or  vertical  root ;  but 
as  lateral  branches  frequently  acquire  a  more  robust  growth 
than  the  central  stem,  thus  also  we  find  that  in  many  cases  the 
lateral  or  side-roots  become  stronger  and  more  extended  than 
the  parent  root  from  which   they   sprung.     In  older  trees  a 
difference  between  the  original  or  vertical  root  and  its  lateral 
embranchments  can  thus  with  difficulty  be  traced ;  and  even  in  the 
oak,  the  beech,  and  the  fir,  which  during  the  first  year  of  their 
life  possess  a  preponderating  central  root,  this  is  not  seldom  at 
a  later   period  far  outgrown  by  its   embranchments,  each  of 
which,  under  favourable  circumstances,  seems  able  to  become  the 
chief  food-provider  of  the  plant :  a  most  wise  and  admirable 
provision,   for  as  the  trees  are  immovably  bound  to  the  soil, 
and  only  able  to  find  nourishment  as  far  as  their  roots  can 
reach,  they  could  riot  possibly  have   attained  a  great  age    or 
a  colossal  size,  had  they  not  been  endowed  with  the  faculty  of 
extending  their  subterranean  organs  of  nutrition  in  all  direc- 
tions, of  conquering  as  it  were  new  tributary  regions,  correspond- 
ing with  the  increase  of  their  wants.   It  is  only  through  the  deli- 
cate radical  filaments  which  proceed  from  the  larger  root-fibres 
that  plants  derive  their  nourishment  from  the  earth  ;  for  experi- 
ment has  proved  that  a  herb  will  perish  in  the  midst  of  water 
if  the  ends  of  its  roots  are  raised  above  the  surface.      Each 
of  these  fibrils  is  enveloped  in  a  sheath  of  cellular  substances, 
and  terminates  with  a  peculiarly  succulent' tissue,  forming  what 
is   termed   the    spongiole,   where   the   process   of  absorption 
goes  on  with  the  greatest   activity.      Frequently  the  delicate 
fibrils  are  also  covered  with  extremely  fine  hygroscopic  hairs, 
destined   to  augment  the  absorbing   surface.      Thus  endowed 
with  the  property  of  appropriating  the  nutritious  juices  of  the 


62  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

earth  in  its  immediate  vicinit}7",  the  growing  spongiole  gropes 
its  way  farther  and  farther,  branches  out  in  every  direction, 
and  constantly  coming  into  contact  with  new  portions  of  soil, 
extends  the  territory  subservient  to  the  wants  of  the  plant. 
Well  may  we  praise  the  beauty  of  the  green  canopy  of  the  woods 
and  the  mighty  columns  which  bear  aloft  those  verdant  domes ; 
but  let  us  also  pay  the  tribute  of  our  admiration  to  those 
humbler  organs,  whose  incessant  activity  gathers  in  obscurity 
and  darkness  the  materials  of  the  grove,  which  but  for  them 
would  never  have  so  proudly  crested  the  hill  or  so  beautifully 
diversified  the  plain. 

Yet  the  roots,  although  ever  so  well  formed  for  providing 
the  plant  with  nourishment,  still  required  the  assistance  of 
peculiar  physical  and  chemical  agencies  to  be  able  to  perform 
their  functions.  All  plants  of  a  higher  order  can,  as  is  well 
known,  thrive,  only  in  a  soil  which  partly  consists  of  the  remains 
of  a  lower  or  preceding  vegetation ;  the  stately  monarch  of  the 
woods  rises  upon  the  ruins  of  many  generations  of  trees  or 
shrubs  of  a  humbler  growth,  and  the  corn-field  requires  fertilis- 
ing manure  to  be  able  to  reward  the  labours  of  the  husbandman. 
The  rain  which  irrigates  the  field,  the  meadow,  or  the  wood, 
penetrates  into  the  ground,  imbibes  the  soluble  salts  contained 
in  the  vegetable  mould  or  humus,  is  absorbed  by  the  spongioles 
of  the  roots,  and,  ascending  into  the  vessels  of  the  trunk  and 
branches,  saturates  the  whole  plant  with  nutritious  substances. 
But  rain  frequently  falls  either  after  prolonged  intermissions,  or 
in  much  greater  abundance  than  the  immediate  wants  of  vegeta- 
tion require ;  and  in  both  cases  the  plants  must  have  suffered 
either  from  an  insufficiency  of  moisture  or  from  its  excess,  wash- 
ing away  the  nutritious  salts  contained  in  the  soil,  if  their  healthy 
growth,  nay,  their  very  existence,  had  not  been  protected  by  the 
admirable  properties  of  the  humus.  For  this  wonderful  substance, 
or  rather  mixture  of  mineral  and  vegetable  substances,  attracts 
water  so  strongly  that  it  not  only  prevents  the  too  rapid 
evaporation  of  the  rain  or  dew,  but  actually  condenses  the 
aqueous  vapour  contained  in  the  air,  and  is  thus  enabled  con- 
stantly to  renew  the  sources  from  which  the  thirsty  plant 
derives  its  sustenance. 

As  may  be  supposed,  chemical  decompositions  and  changes 
are  perpetually  going  on  among  the  substances  of  which  every 


PROPERTIES    OF   VEGETABLE    MOULD.  63 

fertile  soil  is  composed.  Thus,  for  instance,  carbonic  acid, 
ammonia,  and  several  vegetable  acids  are  constantly  forming, 
while  decomposition  proceeds  in  the  mould  or  manure,  and  by 
combining  with  the  lime,  iron,  magnesia,  silica,  and  other 
mineral  portions  of  the  soil,  give  birth  to  a  variety  of  soluble 
salts,  all  fit  to  nourish  and  enter  into  the  composition  of  plants. 
No  human  eye  has  as  yet  been  able  to  pierce  all  the  mysteries 
of  these  chemical  changes,  but  so  much  is  certain,  that  they 
perfectly  agree  with  the  wants  of  vegetation,  and  that  this 
beautiful  coincidence  between  the  chemical  affinities  of  the  soil 
and  the  requirements  of  organic  life  is  another  evident  proof 
that  the  various  powers  of  nature  are  all  instruments  of  har- 
mony in  the  hands  of  one  Almighty  power. 

The  nutritious  salts  thus  formed  would  have  been  in  a  great 
measure  lost  for  the  purposes  of  vegetation,  if  the  humus  had 
not  attracted  them  with  a  still  greater  power  than  that  which  it 
exhibits  towards  water.  However  abundantly  the  rain  may 
fall,  however  greedily  it  may  be  absorbed  by  the  inferior  strata, 
the  soluble  substances  are  retained  by  the  superficial  layers  of 
mould  as  by  a  sieve,  and  only  the  pure  water  percolates.  The 
fertility  of  our  fields,  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  our  woods,  the 
perennial  verdure  of  our  meadows,  depend  in  a  great  measure 
upon  this  wonderful  physical  property  ;  for  vegetation  could 
never  have  attained  its  full  development,  if  mould,  like  sand, 
had  possessed  no  binding  power  over  the  nutritious  particles  of 
the  soil. 

The  decomposition  of  the  mould  and  the  chemical  changes 
that  take  place  in  the  mineral  substances  of  which  it  is  partly 
formed,  naturally  proceed  more  rapidly,  when  the  loosened 
and  porous  earth,  which  at  the  same  time  allows  the  spongioles 
of  the  roots  to  ramify  more  easily  in  all  directions,  permits  the 
air  to  penetrate  more  freely  into  its  interstices.  Hence  the 
evident  utility  of  ploughing  and  digging ;  but  these  fertilising 
operations,  which  the  labourer  imperfectly  performs  with  so 
much  fatigue  and  expense,  are  executed  with  the  utmost  per- 
fection and  on  the  grandest  scale  by  the  power  of  winter. 

As  I  have  already  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  water 
possesses  the  remarkable  property  of  expanding  as  soon  as  it 
assumes  the  solid  form  of  ice;  so  that  when  the  humid  soil 
becomes  hard  under  the  influence  of  frost,  the  moisture  con- 


64  THE    HAKMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

tained  in  the  minute  crevices  of  the  stones  or  the  interstices  of 
the  soil  thoroughly  loosens  the  cohesion  of  the  ground.  On 
the  return  of  spring,  warmth,  moisture,  and  air  are  thus  better 
able  to  penetrate  below  the  surface,  and  to  awaken  the  germs 
of  dormant  life.  In  the  Arctic  regions,  where  winter  fre- 
quently holds  vegetation  for  months  in  iron  bondage,  this 
inclement  season  is  at  the  same  time  one  of  its  greatest  friends, 
not  only  through  the  protecting  mantle  of  snow  which  it  spreads 
over  the  earth,  but  chiefly  through  the  mechanical  division  of 
the  soil  which  it  causes.  Thus  death  becomes  the  parent  of 
life ;  and  thus  divine  wisdom  has  made  dreary  winter  the  active 
helpmate  of  the  short  summer  of  the  northern  regions. 

The  roots  of  one  plant  do  not  rob  the  soil  of  the  same  mineral 
substances  as  those  of  another,  for  the  various  families  of  plants 
are  not  constructed  of  identical  materials.  Thus  the  grasses  and 
all  our  cereals  chiefly  require  silica  for  their  nourishment ;  the 
pea  and  the  lupin,  chalk ;  the  potato  and  the  turnip,  potash ; 
the  vine,  soda;  as  the  chemical  analysis  of  their  respective 
ashes  proves.  If  plants  of  the  same  class  were  cultivated 
year  after  year  on  the  same  spot,  the  soil  would  soon  be  ex- 
hausted of  the  particular  mineral  substances  they  require,  while 
by  a  judicious  alternation  of  silica,  potash,  or  chalk  plants,  it 
gains  time  to  replace  the  mineral  particles  that  have  been  with- 
drawn from  it  by  the  preceding  crops. 

If  all  plants  absorbed  the  same  mineral  substances,  the  fields 
which  now  yield  an  annual  return  must  frequently  have  lain 
fallow  until  the  slow  progress  of  mineral  dissolution  had  repaired 
their  losses,  and  consequently  the  same  extent  of  territory  could 
only  have  been  able  to  feed  a  much  smaller  population.  Thus 
we  see  that  the  wealth  and  power  of  all  agricultural  nations, 
and,  consequently,  also  the  progress  of  civilisation,  depend  in 
a  great  measure  upon  the  relative  importance  of  the  various 
mineral  portions  of  the  soil  to  the  different  plants  cultivated  by 
man. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    STEMS    OF    PLANTS. 

The  various  Growth  of  Trees.  —  Internal  Structure  of  Plant-stems. — Wood  and 
Fibrous  Cells. — The  Shafts  of  Palms. — Climbing-plants.— Their  various  Modes 
of  Attachment.— Tree  Buttresses.— Defences  of  Plants.— Thorns.— Prickles.— 
Harmonies  between  the  Trunks  of  Trees  and  the  Wants  of  Man. — The  Voices  of 
the  Forest. 

How  different  the  growth  and  stature  of  our  forest-trees !  Here 
the  fir  symmetrically  raises  its  stately  pyramid  to  the  skies; 
there  the  oak  widely  extends  its  sturdy  branches,  like  arms, 
ready  to  give  battle  to  the  storm.  The  beech,  the  elm,  the 
poplar,  the  willow,  the  birch,  have  each  their  own  well-defined 
individuality,  and  enhance  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  by  their 
picturesque  contrasts.  The  same  pleasing  variety  strikes  us  in 
plants  of  humbler  pretensions.  This  shrub  has  but  a  few  vertical 
shoots,  while  its  neighbour  branches  out  in  all  directions  ;  here 
growth  tends  ambitiously  upwards ;  there  it  humbly  creeps 
along  the  ground ;  here  it  confronts  you  with  a  military  stiff- 
ness, as  if  determined  rather  to  break  than  to  yield ;  there  it 
appears  with  a  courtier-like  pliability,  ever  ready  to  bend  as  the 
wind  blows. 

But,  however  different  its  growth  may  be,  the  trunk  or  stem 
of  a  plant  is  in  every  case  admirably  proportioned  to  the. 
weight  it  has  to  carry  or  to  the  resistance  it  has  to  encounter, 
and  in  every  case  its  texture  has  been  made  to  harmonise  with 
its  task.  Thus,  on  examining  the  internal  structure  of  our  forest 
trees,  we  find  their  woody  fibres,  which  are  long  and  pointed  at 
both  ends  like  spindles,  firmly  wedged  into  each  other,  an  ar- 
rangement which  of  course  gives  the  fabric  of  the  trunk  or 
branches  a  greater  power  to  resist  the  violence  of  the  wind. 

Every  year  our  forest  trees  add  a  new  concentric  layer  or 
ring  to  their  circumference,  so  that  the  strength  of  their  axis. 

F 


66  THE  HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

increases  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  size  of  the  crown ;  but 
the  palms  of  the  tropical  zone  have  a  different  growth,  as  with- 
out any  very  perceptible  increase  in  the  diameter  of  their  stem, 
they  rear  their  colossal  fronds  higher  and  higher  into  the  air. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  their  comparatively  slender  trunks,  and  their 
towering  stature,  which  is  surpassed  by  that  of  but  few  other  trees, 
they  as  effectually  withstand  the  pressure  of  the  storm  as  our 
firs  or  oaks,  or  as  the  dicotyledonous  giants  of  their  own  zone, 
for  their  fibrous  cells,  which  unite  a  remarkable  degree  of  tough- 
ness with  a  considerable  pliability,  are  interlaced  so  firmly  at 
or  near  the  surface  of  the  trunk,  where  they  are  most  compactly 
arranged,  that  they  are  enabled  to  bend  without  breaking,  to 
bow  down  before  the  hurricane,  and  to  rise  again  as  soon  as  its 
fury  has  passed. 

In  the  climbing  or  creeping-plants,  whose  thin  and  delicate 
stems  are  quite  out  of  proportion  to  their  weight,  this  want 
of  self-supporting  strength  is  compensated  in  various  ways ; 
so  that,  in  spite  of  their  apparent  weakness,  they  are  able  to 
carry  their  heads  as  high  as  if  they  rested  on  colossal  trunks. 
Some  of  them  embrace  other  plants  by  growing  in  a  spiral 
direction,  as,  for  instance,  our  beans  and  hops  ;  others,  like  the 
ivy,  emit  from  their  stem  short  aerial  roots,  which  serve  as 
hold-fasts  in  the  crevices  of  old  walls  or  trees  ;  and  others,  again, 
like  the  vine,  climb  upwards  by  means  of  tendrils,  which,  grow- 
ing out  of  the  axillae  of  the  leaves,  wind  round  neighbouring 
objects,  and  prop  the  plant  as  it  ascends. 

The  tropical  rattans,  those  remarkable  climbing  palms,  whose 
rope-like  stems  often  consist  of  a  couple  of  hundred  joints,  each 
two  or  three  feet  long,  and  bearing  at  every  knot  a  feathery  leaf, 
rest  so  firmly  upon  the  branches  of  the  trees  by  means  of  the 
strong  barbed  thorns  with  which  the  petioles  of  their  leaves  are 
armed,  and  interlace  themselves  so  frequently,  that  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  detach  them  from  their  hold.  Thus  supported,  they 
climb  to  the  summits  of  the  highest  forest  trees,  and  while  it  is 
impossible  to  distinguish  their  creeping  stems  from  the  intricate 
tangles  of  the  matted  underwood,  their  palm-like  topes  expand 
in  the  sunshine,  the  emblems  of  successful  parasitism. 

Other  tropical  climbers,  again,  have  neither  thorns  nor 
tendrils  to  support  them,  but,  as  soon  as  they  have  found  a  stay 
in  some  neighbouring  tree,  they  begin  to  extend  over  its  surface 


PAKASITIC    PLANTS.  G7 

like  a  plastic  body ;  for,  while  the  stems  of  most  other  plants 
generally  assume  a  cylindrical  form,  these  wonderful  climbers 
have  the  peculiarity  of  divesting  themselves  of  their  rind  when 
brought  into  contact  with  an  extraneous  body,  and  of  spreading 
over  it,  until  they  at  length  enclose  it  in  a  tubular  mass.  When 
during  this  process  the  powers  of  the  original  root  are  weakened, 
the  stem  sends  forth  new  props  to  restore  the  equilibrium,  and 
thus  the  parasitic  race  continually  acquires  fresh  strength,  while 
the  incarcerated  trunk  is  stifled  and  destroyed. 

Several  species  of  fig-trees  are  peculiarly  remarkable  for  this 
destructive  property,  and  from  the  facility  with  which  their 
seeds  take  root  where  there  is  a  sufficiency  of  moisture  to  permit 
of  germination,  are  formidable  assailants  of  ancient  monuments. 

In  many  tropical  trees  which,  struggling  for  air  and  light  in 
the  dense  thicket  of  the  forest,  attain  a  prodigious  altitude,  or 
from  the  colossal  expansion  of  their  branches  require  steadying 
from  beneath,  we  find  buttresses  projecting  like  rays  from  all 
sides  of  the  trunk.  They  are  frequently  from  six  to  twelve 
inches  thick,  and  project  from  five  to  fifteen  feet ;  and  as  they 
ascend  they  gradually  sink  into  the  bole  and  disappear  at  the 
height  of  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  from  the  ground, — a  beautiful 
provision,  which  effectually  protects  the  trees  from  the  leverage 
of  the  crown,  by  which  they  would  otherwise  be  uprooted. 

Our  annual  herbs,  which  from  their  inconsiderable  height  are 
less  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  wind,  naturally  require  no  solid 
ligneous  stem  for  their  support.  Many  grow  under  the  covering 
shade  of  some  powerful  protector ;  while  others  find  adequate  • 
powers  of  resistance  in  the  long  and  tough  fibrous  cells  with 
which  their  stems  are  furnished. 

The  flax  and  hemp  plants  of  our  northern  Flora,  the  Phormium 
tenax  of  New  Zealand,  and  the  Musacese  and  Bromeliacea3  of  the 
tropical  zone,  are  peculiarly  distinguished  by  this  fibrous  texture, 
which,  besides  serving  for  their  own  preservation,  renders  them 
also  eminently  useful  to  man. 

Although  unable  to  move  from  the  spot,  and  thus  to  avoid  by 
a  timely  flight  the  attacks  of  their  enemies,  the  plants  have  not 
been  left  defenceless  against  man  and  the  herbivorous  animals  of 
the  woods.  Thus  many  of  our  native  shrubs  are  guarded  by 
ramparts  of  thorns  and  prickles,  but  the  spines  of  our  hawthorns 
and  bramble-bushes  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  size  which  these 

F   2 


68  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

defensive  weapons  attain  in  the  tropical  zone.  The  cactuses,  the 
acacias,  and  many  of  the  palm-trees,  bristle  with  sharp-pointed 
shafts,  affording  them  ample  protection  against  the  attacks  of 
hungry  animals,  so  that  they  might  appropriately  be  called 
vegetable  hedgehogs  or  porcupines. 

The  melon-cactus  of  the  South  American  llanos  or  savannahs 
conceals  its  juicy  pulp,  pleasant  to  man  and  beast,  under  one  of 
these  formidable  panoplies.  Guided  by  an  admirable  instinct, 
the  wary  mule  strikes  off  with  his  fore-feet  the  long  sharp  thorns 
of  this  remarkable  plant,  the  emblem  of  good  nature  unde/  a 
forbidding  exterior,  and  then  cautiously  approaches  his  lips  to 
feast  upon  the  refreshing  marrow.  Yet,  in  spite  of  every  pre- 
caution, the  attempt  to  quaff  from  these  alluring  sources  is  fre- 
quently attended  with  danger,  for  mules  are  often  met  with  that 
have  been  lamed  by  wounds  from  the  formidable  prickles  of  the 
cactus. 

The  black  twigs  of  the  buffalo-thorn  (Acacia  latronum),  a  low 
shrub  abounding  in  northern  Ceylon,  are  beset  at  every  joint 
by  a  pair  of  thorns,  set  opposite  each  other  like  the  horns  of  an 
ox,  as  sharp  as  a  needle,  from  two  to  three  inches  in  length,  and 
thicker  at  the  base  than  the  stem  on  which  they  grow ;  and  the 
Acacia  tomentosa,  another  member  of  the  same  numerous  genus, 
has  thorns  so  large  as  to  be  called  the  jungle-nail  by  Europeans, 
and  the  elephant-thorn  by  the  natives.  In  some  of  these  thorny 
plants,  the  spines  grow,  not  singly  but  in  branching  clusters, 
each  point  presenting  a  spike  as  sharp  as  a  lancet ;  and  where 
.these  shrubs  abound,  they  render  the  forest  absolutely  impassable 
even  to  animals  of  the  greatest  size  and  strength. 

The  rattans  and  bush-ropes  impede  the  wanderer's  progress 
not  only  by  the  tough  cordage  they  twine  from  tree  to  tree,  but 
also  by  the  strong  hooks  and  thorns  with  which  they  are  gene- 
rally armed,  so  that  every  attempt  to  force  a  passage  would  be 
severely  punished  with  torn  clothes  and  bloody  hands,  and  large 
knives  or  heavy  scythe-like  axes  are  necessary  to  clear  the  way. 

Some  plants  are  protected  by  thorns  only  up  to  a  certain 
height.  The  Caryota  horrida,  a  palm  which  raises  its  crown 
fifty  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  soil,  is  so  thickly  studded  with 
formidable  thorns  to  the  height  of  six  or  eight  feet,  that  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  see  the  bark ;  further  upwards,  where  defence 
is  no  longer  necessary,  the  trunk  is  unarmed.  The  thorny 


TEXTURE   OF   WOOD.  69 

plants,  which  are  frequently  so  inconvenient  or  injurious  to  man, 
are  often  used  to  protect  his  fields  and  plantations  against  wild 
beasts  and  robbers,  or  even  as  bulwarks  against  hostile  invasions. 
Thus,  Sir  Emerson  Tennent  informs  us  that,  during  the  existence 
of  the  Kandyan  kingdom,  before  its  conquest  by  the  British, 
the  frontier  forests  were  so  thickened  and  defended  by  dense 
plantations  of  thorny  plants  as  to  form  a  natural  fortification 
impregnable  to  the  feeble  tribes  on  the  other  side ;  and  at  each 
pass  which  led  to  the  level  country,  movable  gates,  formed  of  the 
same  thorny  beams,  were  suspended  as  an  ample  security  against 
the  incursions  of  the  naked  and  timid  lowlanders. 

The  trunks  and  stems  of  the  plants  are  far  more  important  to 
man  than  their  roots,  and  in  fact  utterly  indispensable  to  the 
progress  of  civilization.  The  circumstance  that  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  cells  of  which  they  are  formed  acquire  a  ligneous 
texture  during  the  progress  of  their  growth,  or  change  into 
tough  and  pliable  fibres  of  a  very  considerable  length,  is  of 
paramount  importance  to  the  welfare  of  man ;  for  what  would 
have  been  his  social  condition  if  the  reign  of  Flora  had  been 
confined  to  plants  of  a  humble  growth  or  brittle  texture.  Navi- 
gation would  have  remained  unknown  to  him ;  like  a  wild  animal, 
he  would  have  been  obliged  to  live  in  burrows  or  in  caves ; 
he  would  never  have  been  enabled  to  manufacture  any  of  the 
instruments  which  agriculture,  industry,  and  the  mutual  inter- 
course of  nations  absolutely  require  ;  he  would  always  have  re- 
mained a  miserable  savage,  the  wretched  lord  of  a  wretched 
inheritance. 

The  difference  of  texture  and  consistency  in  the  wood  of  dif- 
ferent trees  is  likewise  an  object  of  high  importance  to  man. 
One  kind  of  wood  recommends  itself  to  his  notice  by  its  strength 
and  hardness,  another  by  its  pliability;  a  third  by  the  ease 
with  which  it  can  be  worked ;  a  fourth  by  its  lightness  :  and 
thus  the  carpenter,  the  ship-builder,  the  coach-maker,  the  turner, 
and  many  other  artizans  find  each  of  them  the  most  suitable 
materials  for  their  several  purposes  among  the  various  trees  of 
the  forest. 

But  the  trunks  of  the  trees  are  useful  to  man  not  only  by  their 
solid  and  fibrous  parts,  but  frequently  also  by  the  juices  which 
they  contain,  or  the  substances  deposited  in  their  cellular  tissue. 
Thus,  they  provide  him  with  an  amazing  variety  of  dyeing 


70  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

substances,  of  resins,  and  gums.  In  the  rind  of  the  Cinchona- 
trees  he  finds  quinine,  the  only  substance  which  opposes  an 
effectual  resistance  to  the  fever  and  ague ;  and  that  of  the  cinna- 
mon tree  surpasses  all  other  spices  in  flavour.  The  bark  of  the 
cork-tree  gives  him  the  necessary  material  for  preserving  the  rich 
produce  of  his  vineyards,  and  that  of  the  common  oak  with  the 
astringent  juices  he  requires  for  tanning  the  hides  of  his  cattle. 
Whole  nations  live  almost  exclusively  upon  the  pith  of  the  sago 
palm,  and  when  a  deep  incision  is  made  in  the  trunk  of  the 
wonderful  cow-tree  of  Gruiana,  it  pours  forth  an  excellent  milky 
fluid  in  such  abundance  as  to  relieve  the  traveller's  thirst.  Thus 
man  finds  innumerable  treasures  in  the  trunks  of  trees.  Thus 
there  is  a  wonderful  harmony  between  the  various  wants  of 
cultivation  and  the  life  of  the  forest. 

When  the  wind  swept  through  their  sacred  groves,  our  pious 
ancestors  fancied  they  heard  in  the  moaning  of  the  agitated 
leaves,  in  the  rustling  of  the  branches,  the  voice  of  an  invisible 
(rod — and  should  these  awful  sounds  awaken  no  echo  in  our 
breasts,  should  we  remain  insensible  to  a  language  which  so 
eloquently  proclaims  the  august  Being,  who,  in  his  infinite  power 
and  wisdom,  has  raised  those  beautiful  temples  of  Nature  for 
the  use  of  man  ? 


71 


CHAPTEE  X. 

THE  LEAVES  OF  PLANTS. 

The  chief  Ornament  of  Spring. — Internal  Structure  of  Leaves. — The  Cuticle. — 
Stomata  and  Air-Cells. — Opening  and  Closing  of  the  Stomata. — Pliability  and 
resisting  Powers  of  the  Leaves.  —  Their  Stems.  —  Dionsea  Muscipula. —  The 
Mimosas. — Enemies  of  the  Leaves. — Their  Defences. —  Hairs. — Prickles. — 
Secretions. — Harmonies  between  Leaves  and  Insects. 

How  beautiful  the  lively  verdure  of  spring,  how  it  refreshes 
the  eye  after  the  gloom  of  winter,  and  where  shall  we  find  in 
summer  a  more  delicious  shade  than  under  the  green  canopy  of 
the  woods  ?  As  the  year  declines,  the  autumn  tinges  the  forests 
with  the  richest  colours ;  and  even  in  winter,  the  dark  evergreens 
form  a  picturesque  contrast  with  the  dazzling  snow,  so  that  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year  the  landscape  is  adorned  by  the  foliage 
of  the  trees. 

Were  the  leaves  restricted  to  a  few  simple  forms,  to  a  small 
number  of  tints,  they  would  still  be  one  of  the  chief  ornaments 
of  Nature ;  but  their  decorative  power  is  wonderfully  enhanced 
by  their  endless  varieties  of  shape,  by  their  infinite  shades  of 
colour.  Of  all  the  herbs  we  may  gather  on  our  excursions,  not 
one  is  like  the  other  ;  every  new  species  of  tree  that  meets  our 
eye  has  its  own  peculiar  foliage,  and  were  we  to  wander  through 
all  the  zones  of  the  earth,  every  new  plant  on  our  way  would 
greet  us  with  a  new  form  of  leaf. 

Thus,  the  delicate  organs  of  vegetable  life  have  been  made, 
not  only  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  plants  of  which  they 
form  a  part,  but  also  to  afford  a  constant  gratification  to  our 
sense  of  the  beautiful,  and  to  raise  the  mind  by  the  delight 
which  their  every  varying  contrasts  afford,  to  Him  who  made 
them. 

Conjointly  with  the  roots,  the  leaves  serve  to  nourish  the 
plant ;  they  inhale  and  elaborate  the  gases  and  vapours  of  the 


72  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

atmosphere,  they  are  its  respiratory  organs,  its  lungs ;  their 
expansion  and  their  number  correspond  with  its  vital  activity. 
Plants  living  in  the  shade,  or  restricted  to  a  tardy  growth,  can 
subsist  with  a  few  scanty  leaves,  but  the  monarchs  of  the  woods, 
or  such  plants  as  powerfully  strive  towards  the  sun,  require  a 
vast  extent  of  foliage  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  a  widety-branch- 
ing  crown,  or  of  a  rapid  vegetation.  In  a  couple  of  months 
the  herbaceous  juicy  stem  of  the  plantain  shoots  up  as  thick  as 
a  man's  body,  to  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet ;  but  the 
colossal  leaves  of  the  giant  harmonise  with  this  amazing  rapidity 
of  growth,  as  they  frequently  attain  a  length  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  with  a  breadth  of  two  feet  or  more. 

As  in  plants  of  such  rapid  growth  as  the  Musaceas  all  the  efforts 
of  vegetation  must  necessarily  tend  to  develope  as  fast  as  possible 
an  immense  foliaceous  surface,  the  leaves  of  those  colossal  herbs 
are  remarkably  thin ;  but  as  they  are  also  very  much  exposed  to 
boisterous  winds,  their  middle  rib  contains  a  number  of  ex- 
tremely long  and  tough  fibres,  so  that,  although  a  slight  breeze 
is  able  to  tear  them  into  transverse  shreds,  by  which  their  own 
nutrition  and  their  serviceableness  to  the  plant  are  by  no  means 
impaired,  yet  even  a  storm  cannot  snap  them  asunder  ;  and  thus, 
by  a  wonderful  provision,  the  extreme  fragility  resulting  from 
an  extensive  growth  of  uncommon  rapidity,  is  found  united  with 
immense  powers  of  resistance. 

The  internal  structure  of  the  leaves  is  as  wonderful  as  their 
external  variety  and  beauty.  With  the  exception  of  such  as 
grow  under  water,  the  leaves  of  all  the  flowering  or  phanerogamic 
plants  are  covered  with  a  colourless  cuticle  consisting  of  cells,  the 
walls  of  which  are  flattened  above  and  below,  whilst  they  adhere 
closely  to  each  other  laterally,  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  stratum. 
Their  shape  is  different  in  almost  every  tribe  of  plants,  and  their 
walls,  especially  on  the  side  nearest  the  atmosphere,  are  generally 
thickened  by  a  waxy  deposit,  impermeable  to  fluids,  the  retention 
of  which  within  the  soft  tissues  of  the  leaf  is  obviously  the  purpose 
to  be  answered  by  the  peculiar  organisation  of  the  cuticle. 

In  most  European  plants  the  cuticle  contains  but  a  single 
row  of  thin-sided  cells,  whilst  in  the  generality  of  tropical 
species  there  exist  two,  three,  or  even  four  layers  of  thick- 
sided  cells,  which  give  the  leaf  an  almost  leathery  consistence. 
This  difference  of  structure  is  most  beautifully  adapted  to  the 


CUTICLES   AND    POKES    OF    LEAVES.  73 

various  climates  in  which  these  plants  have  been  respectively 
destined  to  flourish,  for  the  thin  cuticle  of  a  species  indigenous 
to  temperate  climates,  would  not  have  afforded  a  sufficient  pro- 
tection to  the  interior  structure  had  it  been  exposed  to  the 
vertical  rays  of  a  tropical  sun,  whilst  the  diminished  heat  of 
this  country  would  scarcely  overcome  the  resistance  of  the 
dense  and  non-conducting  tegument  of  a  species  formed  to 
exist  in  tropical  climates.  Nor  must  we  forget  that  the  thick- 
ness of  the  badly-conducting  cuticle  serves  also  to  protect  the 
leaves  of  the  equinoctial  plants  against  the  great  difference  of 
temperature  which  frequently  exists  between  the  heat  of  the 
day  and  the  chilly  coolness  of  the  night,  a  difference  much 
greater  than  that  which  takes  place  in  the  temperate  regions. 

As  the  cuticle  is  impermeable  to  air,  it  may  well  be  asked 
how  the  leaves  are  able  to  perform  their  respiratory  functions ; 
but  the  enigma  is  soon 
solved  on  examining  a  leaf 
through  a  powerful  micro- 
scope, for  then  the  cuticle 
is  seen  to  be  pierced  with 
numerous  pores,  or  sto- 
mata, leading  into  lacunce 
or  air  -  chambers,  small 

onpn  srmppcj  m'tnatprl  in  HIP  Vertical  section  of  portion  of  a  leaf  of  Iris 
Open  Spaces  Situated  m  tne  Germamca,  taken  in  a  transverse  direction. 

green  Cellular  tissue  Of  the  «•«,  cells  of  the  cuticle  ;  6.6,  cells  at  the  sides  of  the 
,  „  ,  , .  rv  1 .  stomata ;  c.c,  small  green  cells  placed  within  these  ; 

leaf,    and    thus    affording  a        d-d,  openings  of  the  stomata;  e,e,  lacuna?  or  air 

cells ;  /./,  cells  of  the  parenchyma. 

passage  to  the  atmosphere. 

In  general,  the  stomata  are  not  so  numerous  on  the  upper  as 
on  the  under  surface  of  the  leaf;  frequently  even,  as  for  instance 
in  the  oak,  the  beech,  the  birch,  and  the  alder,  they  are  en- 
tirely confined  to  the  latter.  In  the  erect  leaves  of  the  grasses 
they  are  about  equal  on  both  sides  ;  in  leaves  floating  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  they  are  found  only  on  that  side  which  is  exposed 
to  the  air  ;  and  in  submerged  leaves  they  are,  with  but  few  excep- 
tions, completely  wanting.  Generally,  they  are  least  numerous 
in  succulent  plants,  whose  moisture  is  destined  to  be  retained 
in  the  system  ;  whilst  they  abound  most  in  those  species  in  which 
a  rapid  absorption  and  exhalation  of  the  fluids  takes  place.  In 
the  Hydrangea,  for  instance,  there  are  no  less  than  16,000 
stomata  in  every  square  inch  of  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves ; 


74  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

in  the  black  elder,  63,000 ;  in  Iris  germanica  each  surface  has 
nearly  12,000  stomata  in  every  square  inch ;  and  in  Yucca,  each 
surface  has  40,000.  What  wonders  does  a  close  inspection  thus 
reveal  in  the  structure  of  a  leaf  whose  surface  appears  uniform 
and  unbroken  to  the  naked  eye.  On  that  side  of  the  leaf  where 
the  stomata  and  the  corresponding  lacunae  chiefly  abound  or 
exclusively  exist,  the  green  cellular  parenchyma  is  always  of  a 
looser  texture,  whilst  on  the  opposite  side,  where  the  stomata 
are  either  less  abundant  or  entirely  wanting,  it  is  more  compact. 
Hence  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves  is  generally  of  a  less 
intense  green  than  the  upper  one,  where  the  cells  are  more 
closely  congregated. 

The  stomata  are  destined  to  admit  air,  not  water,  which  by 
drenching  the  leaf  would  entirely  interrupt  the  process  of  respi- 
ration. This  danger  is  effectually  guarded  against  by  the 
boundary-cells  of  the  stoma,  (d.d,)  which,  from  their  swelling  or 
expanding  in  moist  weather  by  the  absorption  of  humidity,  are 
able  entirely  to  close  the  opening,  so  that  no  rain  can  penetrate 
into  the  air-chambers,  and  thus  this  simple  hygroscopic  property 
renders  here  the  services  rendered  by  muscular  contraction  in 
closing  the  cavities  of  the  animal  body. 

Where  shall  we  find  pliability  and  firmness  more  beautifully 
combined  than  in  the  structure  of  a  leaf?  A  slight  breath  of 
air  sets  it  in  motion,  and  this  circumstance  is  naturally  very 
favourable  to  the  respiratory  process,  as  the  perpetual  agita- 
tion of  the  foliage  brings  it  into  contact  with  new  sheets  of 
air,  and  thus  facilitates  the  exchange  of  oxygen  and  carbonic 
acid.  But  as  the  green  cellular  tissue  of  the  leaf,  in  which  the 
functions  of  respiration  are  carried  on,  is  easily  torn,  a  strong 
framework  or  skeleton  was  needed  to  give  it  the  necessary  sup- 
port, and  this  is  amply  afforded  by  its  ribs,  which,  consisting  of 
bundles  of  strong,  tough,  and  colourless  vessels,  proceed  from  a 
chief  middle-rib,  and  ramifying  over  the  whole  surface,  support 
the  green-coloured  cellular  tissue  as  firmly  as  the  trunk,  sub- 
dividing into  numerous  branches,  supports  a  vast  crown  of  foliage. 

To  increase  the  mobility  of  the  leaves  without  detriment  to 
their  strength,  their  mid-rib  frequently  forms  a  long  stalk  before 
merging  into  the  body  of  the  leaf,  which,  being  thus  freely  sus- 
pended upon  its  slender  and  flexible  support,  easily  gives  way 
to  the  slightest  disturbance  of  the  air,  as  a  ship  at  anchor  gently 
rocks  to  and  fro  in  the  heaving  and  subsiding  waters. 


FUNCTIONS   OF    LEAVES.  75 

Where  the  foot-stalk  of  the  leaf  has  to  bear  a  considerable 
weight,  and  is  moreover  very  much  exposed  to  the  wind,  addi- 
tional precautions  have  been  taken  for  increasing  its  strength. 
Thus,  the  foot-stalks  of  the  huge  fronds  of  the  cocoa-palm  are 
inclosed  in  a  tough  web  or  network,  which  preserves  them  so  well 
from  breaking,  that  even  after  death  they  remain  attached  to  the 
tree.  In  the  flexible  grasses  we  find  the  leaves  embracing  the  stem 
with  a  sheath,  which  gives  to  both  a  much  greater  power  of  re- 
sistance, while  in  many  herbs  the  sessile  leaves  are  placed  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  rain  or  dew  collecting  on  their  surface  flows 
down  the  stalk  to  the  roots,  where  it  is  most  needed.  In  several 
aquatic  plants,  the  stalks  of  the  leaves  are  ventricosely  distended, 
so  as  to  render  them  buoyant,  and  in  many  of  the  fuci,  the  large 
air-vessels  with  which  the  stem  or  the  fronds  are  furnished, 
answer  a  similar  purpose.  These  few  examples  sufficiently  prove 
that  it  is  not  by  a  mere  caprice  of  growth  that  some  leaves  are 
barely  suspended  from  stalks,  while  others  embrace  the  stem  of 
the  plant,  but  that  every  variety  of  form  is  made  to  answer 
an  especial  end.  No  plant  has  been  neglected,  none  has  been 
encumbered  with  useless  or  unappropriate  organs,  but  each  has 
received  all  that  it  required. 

Some  leaves  have  been  gifted  with  a  wonderful  sensibility  which 
seems  almost  to  raise  them  to  the  level  of  animal  life.  Thus  the 
Porliera  hygrometrica  foretels  serene  or  rainy  weather  by  the 
opening  or  closing  of  its  leaves.  Large  tracts  of  country  in  Brazil 
are  almost  entirely  covered  with  sensitive  plants.  The  tramp 
of  a  horse  sets  the  nearest  ones  in  motion,  and,  as  if  by  magic, 
the  contraction  of  the  small  grey-green  leaflets  spreads  in  quiver- 
ing circles  over  the  field,  making  one  almost  believe  with  Darwin 
and  Dutrochet  that  plants  have  feeling,  or  tempting  one  to 
exclaim  with  Wordsworth — 

It  is  my  faith  that  every  flower 
Enjoys  the  air  it  breathes. 

The  leaves  of  the  Venus's  Fly-trap  (Dioncea  muscipula),  a 
marsh-plant  of  North  America,  are  still  more  curious,  as  their 
wonderful  contractility  gives  them  an  offensive  power  quite 
unique  in  the  vegetable  world.  They  are  oblong,  and  divided 
by  the  mid-rib  into  two  halves  inclining"  towards  each  other, 
and  beset  on  the  upper  surface  and  along  the  edges  with 
long  and  stiff  bristles.  At  the  slightest  touch  the  two  halves 


76  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

instantaneously  clap  together,  the  bristles  on  both  sides  fitting 
into  each  other,  so  that  if  a  fly  settles  on  an  opened  leaf  it  is 
immediately  caught  as  in  a  trap,  and  forced  to  remain  in  its 
highly  uncomfortable  position  as  long  as  life  lasts,  for  the  least 
movement  stimulates  the  contraction  of  the  leaf. 

In  the  Hedysarum  gyrans,  a  leguminous  plant  of  the  East 
Indies,  we  even  find  something  like  voluntary  motion,  as  the 
wings  of  the  ternate  leaves  are  constantly  oscillating  upwards 
and  downwards,  quite  independently  of  any  external  stimulus, 
so  that  this  wonderful  plant  seems  absolutely  invested  with  one 
of  the  chief  attributes  of  animal  life. 

Thus,  even  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  we  find  glimpses  of  a 
higher  order  of  existence ;  as  in  our  own  natures  we  are  able  to 
trace  the  dawn  of  a  superior  spiritual  world. 

In  consequence  of  the  delicacy  of  their  structure  the  leaves 
are  exposed  to  innumerable  hostile  attacks ;  but  it  may  well  be 
supposed  that  organs  of  such  vital  importance  have  not  been 
left  unprotected,  and  that  bounds  have  been  set  to  the  voracity 
of  their  enemies.  Many  are  invested  with  a  thick  tomentose  or 
cottony  covering,  others  with  hairs,  bristles,  or  prickles.  Some- 
times these  hairs  bear  little  glandular  bodies  at  their  extremities, 
by  the  secretion  of  which  a  peculiar  viscidity  is  given  to  the 
surface  of  the  leaf,  as  in  the  Sundew  (Drosera) ;  in  other  in- 
stances the  hair  has  a  glandular  body  at  its  base,  whose  secre- 
tion is  of  an  irritating  quality,  as,  for  instance  in  the  Nettle, 
where  the  extremity  of  the  hollow  sting,  being  extremely  brittle, 
breaks  at  the  slightest  touch,  and  suffers  this  corrosive  fluid  to 
escape. 

The  sharp,  bitter,  or  acrid  juices  with  which  the  substance  of 
many  leaves  is  saturated,  as  well  as  the  strongly-scented  volatile 
oils  which  others  exhale  from  their  surface,  no  doubt  serve  also 
as  powerful  means  of  passive  defence. 

Another  circumstance  favourable  to  the  leaves  is,  that  the 
attacks  of  many  of  their  enemies  are  limited  to  a  short  space  of 
time.  Some  insects  feed  only  upon  the  first  tender  foliage  of 
spring,  so  that  a  rapid  vegetation  outstrips  their  ravages :  others 
make  their  first  appearance  towards  the  end  of  summer.  Dur- 
ing all  these  attacks  the  plant  is  incessantly  active  in  repairing 
its  incessant  losses ;  its  leaves  are  constantly  extending  their 
surface,  or  new  ones  are  sprouting  forth  to  replace  those  that 


VEGETABLE    AND    INSECT    LIFE.  77 

have  been  devoured,  and,  thus  in  spite  of  the  large  number  and 
voracity  of  its  enemies,  the  foliage  is  generally  able  to  resist  all 
their  efforts. 

Week  after  week  the  pastures  are  cropped  by  numerous  herds, 
or  mowed  by  the  husbandman,  and  yet  the  grass  never  ceases 
to  flourish,  and  after  countless  caterpillars  and  beetles  have 
feasted  upon  the  plenty  of  the  forest,  it  still  bears  a  luxuriant 
crown,  until  finally  the  winter  scatters  its  foliage  to  the  winds. 
This  indomitable  energy  of  vegetation,  which  not  only  supports 
itself,  but  a  whole  world  of  animals,  and  sets  the  ravages  of 
centuries  at  defiance,  is  indeed  one  of  the  great  wonders  of 
creation ! 

In  all  climates  we  find  a  harmonious  balance  between  insect 
and  vegetable  life.  Towards  the  north,  where  the  growth  of 
plants  is  confined  to  a  few  months  or  even  weeks,  they  have 
but  few  enemies  to  encounter ;  in  the  temperate  zones  hostility 
increases  with  the  increase  of  vegetation,  until  finally,  in  the 
damp  tropical  lowlands,  the  herbivorous  insects  take  the  field 
in  countless  legions.  But  here,  where  the  plantain  raises  its 
colossal  shaft  in  eight  or  ten  months  to  a  height  of  twenty  feet, 
where  the  bamboo  grows  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  inches  in 
twenty-four  hours,  and  the  same  field  yields  three  harvests  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  an  amazing  power  of  vegetation  resists  all 
these  devastations ;  and  here,  also,  the  defences  of  the  plants 
increase  with  their  increasing  dangers;  for  nowhere  are  the 
leaves  better  protected  with  hairs  and  spines,  and  nowhere  do 
they  elaborate  more  pungent  juices  or  exhale  more  penetrating 
odours. 

Thus  harmony  is  everywhere  maintained  between  the  two 
great  divisions  of  organic  life,  and  thus  firmly  established  on 
the  laws  of  an  All-wise  Power,  an  eternal  order  reigns  supreme 
amidst  the  conflicting  interests  of  all  created  beings. 

Where  we  see  so  much  care  bestowed  upon  the  leaves,  which 
are  but  simple  individual  organs,  we  may  well  expect  to  find 
still  greater  precautions  taken  for  the  protection  of  the  buds,  in 
which  the  foliaceous  rudiments  of  a  whole  branch,  or  even  of  a 
whole  plant,  are  contained. 

A  bud  is  seldom  naked ;  generally  it  is  invested  with  a  pano- 
ply of  thick  scales  of  a  coriaceous  or  fibrous  consistence,  and, 
moreover,  frequently  covered  with  hairs  or  impregnated  with 


78  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

resin.  Under  this  comfortable  mantle,  which  from  its  being  a 
bad  conductor  of  heat  opposes  an  effectual  resistance  to  the 
cutting  winds  or  nipping  night-frosts  of  early  spring,  the  first 
tender  leaflets  are  developed  by  the  influence  of  the  warming 
sun,  as  safely  and  securely  as  a  brood  of  chickens  under  the 
fostering  care  of  a  hen.  Slowly  they  swell  within  the  little 
dungeon  in  which  they  are  so  providently  inclosed ;  but  as  soon 
as  they  have  burst  their  fetters,  they  expand  with  an  astonishing 
rapidity,  and  in  a  few  days  the  tree  appears  in  the  full  beauty 
of  its  youthful  verdure. 


79 


CHAPTER   XL 

BLOSSOMS. 

Their  Functions. — Their  Accessory  and  Essential  Parts. — The  Calyx.— The  Corolla. 
— The  Pistils. — The  Anthers. — The  Pollen. — Insects  as  Means  of  Fructification. 
— The  Vallisneria  Spiralis. 

NOTHING  can  equal  the  immense  variety  of  flowers,  their  charm- 
ing colours,  or  their  delicious  fragrance.  How  differently  formed 
are  the  radiate  aster  and  the  hooded  wolf's-bane,  the  bell-shaped 
campanula  and  the  papilionaceous  lupin,  and  yet  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say  which  of  them  most  pleases  the  eye. 

The  colours  with  which  the  flowers  are  adorned  baffle  descrip- 
tion. The  snowy  whiteness  of  our  fruit-trees  adds  new  beauties 
to  spring,  and  the  purple  heath  invests  the  bleak  and  barren 
Highlands  of  the  north  with  a  magnificence  equal  to  the  warm 
tints  of  Italy  or  Spain.  The  humble  daisy,  the  golden  butter- 
cup enamel  our  verdant  meads,  and  every  hue  of  the  rainbow  is 
reflected  in  the  gay  parterres  of  our  gardens,  or  in  the  conserva- 
tories where  Flora  assembles  her  favourites  from  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

The  foliage  of  many  plants  exhales  an  agreeable  odour,  but 
no  leaf  produces  a  balsam  which  can  in  any  way  equal  the 
aroma  of  the  violet  or  the  rose,  of  the  pink  or  of  the  lily  of  the 
valley.  Without  the  flowers,  the  variety  of  perfumes  which 
regale  our  sense  of  smell  would  be  but  small ;  without  them  its 
faculties  of  enjoyment  would  not  have  harmonised  with  the 
outer  world. 

But  the  corolla  on  which  Nature  has  thus  lavished  all  that  can 
gratify  the  senses,  plays  after  all  but  an  accessory  part  in  the 
economy  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  as,  conjointly  with  the 
calyx,  it  merely  serves  as  a  protecting  cover,  or  as  an  orna- 
mental envelope  to  the  pistil  and  to  the  stamina,  which,  though 
generally  of  a  more  humble  appearance,  are  the  essential  organs 


80 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


of  fructification  in  all  the  higher  plants.  Thus,  both  the  corolla 
and  the  calyx  may  be  wanting,  as  for  instance  in  the  vast  family 
of  the  grasses,  which  spreads  in  thousands  of  species  over  the 
face  of  the  globe. 

The  pistil  or  pistils— for  they  vary  in  number  from  one  to 
twelve,  and  sometimes  more — commonly  appear  in  the  centre  of 
the  corolla,  from  which  they  rise  like  so  many  green  columns.  A 
pistil  consists  of  three  parts — the  stigma  at  its  upper  extremity, 
which  is  sometimes  globular,  sometimes  cleft,  sometimes  cross- 
shaped  ;  the  style  or  hollow  pillar  which  supports  the  stigma ; 
and  the  germen,  or  seed-bud,  which  forms  its  pedestal  or  base, 
and  in  which  the  germs  or  ovula  are  contained. 

The  stamens,  which  resemble  threads,  or  pillars,  usually  stand 
between  the  corolla  and  the  pistil,  but  are  extremely  various  in 
their  arrangement  and  number — a  circumstance  on  which 
Linnaeus  founded  his  method  of  classifying  plants.  Some  have 
but  one  stamen,  others  two,  three,  and  so  on  up  to  ten,  twelve, 
twenty,  or  even  several  hundreds.  In  some  flowers  we  find  the 
stamina  standing  apart  from  each  other,  in  others  united  by 
their  filaments  into  one  or  several  sets ;  here  they  are  all  of 
equal  length,  there  of  unequal  dimensions ;  sometimes  they  are 
attached  to  the  inside  of  the  calyx,  sometimes  to  the  corolla,  to 
the  receptacle,  or  to  the  pistil.  They  invariably  consist  of  two 
parts,  the  anther  and  the  filament.  The  anther  is  the  summit  of 

the  stamen,  and  contains 
the  mealy  or  powdery  sub- 
stance called  pollen,  which, 
brought  into  contact  with 
the  stigma,  serves  to  fecun- 
date the  ovula  contained 
within  the  germ.  When 
come  to  maturity,  the  an- 
thers open  in  various  ways 
— longitudinally  or  trans- 
versely, or  through  the 
raising  of  a  lid,  or  through 
numerous  apertures,  so  that 
the  pollen  contained  in  its 
interior  becomes  free  and 
covers  its  surface  with  a  fine  generally  yellow-coloured  powder. 


Pollen-Grams  of 

a,  althaea   rosea ;    b,  cobaea  scandens  ;    c 
ccerulea  ;  d,  ipomcea  purpurea. 


POLLEN-GKAINS.  81 

If  these  golden  cushions  carried  on  pillars  of  ivory  afford  an 
agreeable  spectacle  to  the  naked  eye,  our  admiration  increases 
when  we  come  to  view  the  pollen-grains  under  a  magnifying- 
glass — for  every  genus  of  plants  has  its  own  characteristic  form 
of  this  fructifying  dust,  the  surface  of  which  is  often  most 
curiously  marked.  Its  roughening  by  spines  or  knobby  pro- 
tuberances is  a  very  common  feature,  and  answers  the  purpose 
of  enabling  it  to  adhere  more  readily  to  the  stigma. 

These  elegant  little  globes  are  so  small  that  they  generally 
attain  a  diameter  of  only  l-l,200th  or  1 -3,000th  of  an  inch; 
while  they  are  so  numerous  that  frequently  many  thousands  are 
brought  forth  by  one  single  flower,  and  thus  the  seed  we  tread 
under  foot  produces  with  a  boundless  prodigality  objects  so 
exquisitely  formed  and  modelled  that  the  most  skilful  pencil 
can  hardly  do  justice  to  their  beauty. 

Even  the  pollen-grain  which  the  vernal  wind  carries  in  count- 
less billions  through  the  air,  and  which  man  scarce  ever  deigns 
to  notice,  is  the  work  of  a  consummate  master,  a  wonderful 
monument  of  Almighty  power ! 

Although  both  the  pistils  and  the  stamina  are  essential 
organs  of  fructification,  and  seed  can  only  be  formed  by  their 
mutual  co-operation,  yet  they  are  not  always  united  in  the 
same  blossom.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  birch,  we  find  flowers  of 
different  kinds  on  the  same  plant,  some  bearing  pistils  and 
others  stamens  only ;  or,  as  in  the  willow  and  poplar,  stamens 
on  one  plant  and  pistils  on  another  ;  or,  even  as  in  the  common 
ash,  the  same  tree  will  bear  flowers  of  three  different  kinds. 

In  most  plants,  however,  the  pistils  and  anthers  are  united 
within  the  same  corolla,  an  arrangement  which  greatly  facilitates 
the  admission  of  the  pollen  to  the  stigma;  and  for  the  same 
purpose  the  stamina  of  most  plants  surround  the  pistilla,  an 
arrangement  which  gives  the  pollen  an  opportunity  of  falling 
upon  the  stigma  at  every  breeze  of  wind.  In  those  flowers 
which  stand  upright,  the  stamina  are  higher  than  the  top  of  the 
pistil,  so  that,  as  the  pollen  is  specifically  heavier  than  air,  some 
of  it  must  almost  inevitably  fall  upon  the  stigma  as  soon  as  it- 
detaches  itself  from  the  anther,  while  in  those  flowers  which 
hang  down  or  incline  to  one  side,  the  pistil  is  longer  than  the 
stamina. 

The  flowers  of  most  plants  expand  by  the  heat  of  the  sun, 

G 


82  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

and  close  their  petals  in  the  evening  or  in  rainy  weather.  The 
final  cause  of  this  is  to  keep  the  moisture  .from  the  pollen,  lest 
it  should  be  thereby  coagulated,  and  of  course  prevented  from 
falling  or  being  blown  upon  the  stigma.  Thus,  in  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  hermaphrodite  flowers,  every  circumstance  which 
could  possibly  favour  their  fecundation  has  been  most  admirably 
attended  to ;  and  though  those  plants  where  the  stamina  and  the 
pistils  appear  in  separate  flowers,  or  even  on  separate  trees, 
might  at  the  first  view  seem  less  well  provided  for,  yet  here 
also  the  pollen  is  made  to  reach  the  stigma  as  surely  as  if  both 
had  been  produced  within  the  same  corolla. 

To  effect  this  object,  Nature  has  two  most  efficacious  agents  at 
her  disposal :  the  wind,  and  the  insects,  who  by  their  friendly 
intervention  seem  desirous  of  making  amends  to  Flora  for  the 
ravages  they  are  perpetually  committing  on  her  domains.  The 
bees  are  particularly  useful  in  this  respect,  for,  while  sipping  the 
sweet  juice  of  the  nectaries  at  the  bottom  of  the  flowers,  they 
brush  off  the  pollen  from  the  anthers  of  one  flower  with  their 
hairy  bodies,  and  unconsciously  convey  it  to  the  stigma  of 
another.  In  the  extensive  families  of  the  Asclepiadeae  and  of 
the  Orchids,  insect  intervention  is  not  merely  of  assistance  but 
absolutely  necessary  for  their  fecundation:  as  here  the  ripe 
pollen,  instead  of  being  a  loose  powder,  forms  a  wax-like  adhe- 
sive mass,  which,  sticks  fast  to  the  honey-gathering  insect,  and 
could  not  otherwise  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  stigma. 
In  these  flowers  the  nectaries  are  disposed  in  such  a  manner 
that,  to  be  able  to  reach  them,  the  insect  must  necessarily  graze 
the  stigma,  and  thus  bring  the  fructifying  pollen  to  the  place 
where  it  is  needed,  an  arrangement  which  plainly  points  to  the 
direction  of  a  higher  hand. 

As  the  moistening  of  flowers  generally  prevents  their  fructi- 
fication, (for  the  pollen  of  but  very  few  water-plants,  such  as  the 
Horn- wort  (Ceratophyllum  demersam),  and  the  Grass- wrack 
(Zostera  marina),  is  not  damaged  by  wet),  most  of  the  plants 
that  grow  below  water  emerge  when  their  flowers  begin  to  blow, 
and  swim  upon  the  surface  till  they  receive  their  impregnation, 
and  then  sink  down. 

Thus  in  autumn,  at  the  time  of  flowering,  air  is  developed  in 
the  bladders,  which  here  and  there  distend  the  linear  leaves  of 
the  Utricularia  vulgaris  or  Hooded  Milfoil,  a  plant  of  frequent 


FRUCTIFICATION  OF    FLOWERS.  83 

occurrence  in  stagnant  waters.  Thus  buoyed  up,  the  blossom 
rises  to  the  surface,  and  expands  its  large  yellow  petals  in  the 
atmosphere,  but  as  soon  as  fructification  is  accomplished,  the  air 
of  the  bladders  escapes  or  is  absorbed,  and  the  sinking  Utricularia 
returns  to  its  more  congenial  element.  In  other  cases,  where 
the  depth  of  the  water  in  which  it  grows  is  too  great  to  allow 
the  plant  to  rise  to  the  surface,  as,  for  instance,  in  many  species 
of  Water-wort  (Elatine),  and  Water-plantain  (Alisma),  a  bubble 
of  air  is  secreted  within  the  folded  corolla  at  the  time  when 
fructification  is  to  take  place,  and  forms  a  subaqueous  atmo- 
spheric chamber  in  which  the  process  can  be  safely  accom- 
plished. 

But  the  fructification  of  the  Vallisneria  spiralis,  a  common 
plant  in  the  ditches  of  the  rice-fields  in  Italy,  is  beyond  all 
others  curious.  This  herb  grows  in  the  mud,  generally  several 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  has  its  stamens  and 
pistils  on  different  flowers.  The  anthered  flowers  grow  in  short- 
stemmed  compact  knobs  at  the  basis  of  the  leaves,  while  the 
stigmate-flowers  are  seated  on  long  stalks  spirally  contracted 
like  a  corkscrew.  When  the  time  of  fructification  approaches, 
the  small  anthered  flowers  detach  themselves  from  their  stalks, 
and  swim  about  upon  the  surface,  where  they  freely  emit  their 
snow-white  pollen ;  wrhile  the  stigmate  flowers,  in  which  a 
similar  separation  from  the  maternal  plant  was  not  admissible, 
gradually  rise  to  the  top  by  the  unfolding  of  their  spiral  coils. 
As  if  prompted  by  an  animal  instinct,  they  are  constantly 
moving  on  the  surface,  as  though  they  were  seeking  the  small 
anthered  flowers,  which  are  at  the  same  time  swimming  about 
in  considerable  quantities.  When  fructification  is  completed, 
their  long  stalk  again  contracts  into  a  spiral,  and  the  flower, 
having  no  longer  the  contact  of  the  water  to  fear,  sinks  again 
to  the  bottom,  where  the  fecundated  germ  grows  to  maturity. 

Thus  a  despised  and  troublesome  weed  shows  us  wonders  in 
its  organisation,  which  would  be  utterly  incomprehensible  if  we 
did  not  attribute  them  to  a  divine  and  all- wise  Creator ! 


G    2 


84  THE   HAKMONIES   OF   NATUKE. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

SEEDS   AND    THEIR   MIGRATIONS. 

Defences  of  Seeds. — Their  Dissemination  over  the  Earth. — Feathers  and  Wings. — 
Cotton. — Influence  of  Water-courses. — Mangrove  Seeds. — The  Animals  and  Man 
as  Disseminators  of  Plants. — Progress  of  Vegetation  on  the  originally  naked  Eock. 

CAN  anything  be  more  admirable  than  the  provident  care  be- 
stowed upon  the  seeds  of  plants  ?  See  how  the  sweet  kernel  of 
the  walnut  is  inclosed,  not  only  in  a  thick  coriaceous  astringent 
skin,  but  in  a  solid  case  of  almost  stony  hardness ;  and  how 
snugly  the  chesnut  lies  concealed,  like  a  hedgehog  under  its 
bristly  coat,  until,  when  fully  ripe,  it  bursts  the  bonds  which 
held  it  in  salutary  confinement. 

The  tender  seminal  germs  are  not  only  protected  by  a  dense 
envelope  against  the  influence  of  the  weather,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  remain  for  years  in  a  state  of  dormant  vitality ;  but  they  also 
find  within  the  seed  itself  the  albumen,  the  oil,  the  starch,  the 
gluten,  in  one  word,  all  the  nourishment  they  require  when 
under  favourable  conditions  they  first  awaken  into  active  life ; 
and  thus  nothing  is  wanting  for  their  equipment  when,  dropping 
from  the  parent  stem,  they  launch  forth  to  seek  their  own  for- 
tunes in  the  wide  wide  world. 

From  the  sedentary  nature  of  plants,  they  would  have  been 
menaced  with  extinction  if  nature  had  not  provided  means  for 
the  diffusion  of  their  seeds  over  a  vast  area.  As  the  spores  of 
mosses,  fungi,  and  lichens  consist  of  an  impalpable  powder,  the 
particles  of  which  are  scarcely  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  it 
is  not  difficult  to  account  for  their  being  dispersed  throughout 
the  atmosphere,  and  carried  to  every  point  of  the  globe,  where 
there  is  a  station  fitted  for  their  reception.  Lichens  in  particular 
ascend  to  great  elevations,  sometimes  growing  two  thousand  feet 
above  the  line  of  perpetual  snow,  at  the  utmost  limits  of  vegeta- 


DISPEKSION    OF    SEEDS.  85 

tion,  and  where  the  mean  temperature  is  nearly  at  the  freezing 
point.  This  elevated  position  must  contribute  greatly  to  facili- 
tate the  dispersion  of  those  buoyant  particles  of  which  their 
fructification  consists. 

'  The  sporules  of  fungi/  says  Fries,  6  are  so  infinite  that  in 
a  single  individual  of  Reticularia  maxima  I  have  counted 
above  ten  millions,  and  so  subtile  as  to  be  scarcely  visible,  often 
resembling  thin  smoke ;  so  light  that  they  may  be  raised  per- 
haps by  evaporation  into  the  atmosphere,  and  dispersed  in  so 
many  ways  by  the  attraction  of  the  sun,  by  insects,  wind,  elas- 
ticity, adhesion,  &c.,  that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  place  from 
which  they  may  be  excluded.' 

Among  the  higher  plants  we  find  a  great  number  of  seeds 
furnished  with  downy  and  feathery  appendages,  enabling  them, 
when  ripe,  to  float  in  the  air,  and  to  be  wafted  easily  to  great 
distances  by  the  most  gentle  breeze.  Thousands  and  thousands 
may  perish  on  the  way,  or  fall  upon  a  barren  soil,  but  many, 
favoured  by  fortune,  find  a  new  home  far  away  from  the  spot 
where  their  parents  grew,  and  found  new  starting  points  for 
further  emigrations.  Thus  many  a  plant  may  have  been  extir- 
pated in  its  original  seat  and  yet  flourish  in  another  country, 
reminding  one  of  those  ancient  cities  whose  colonies  still  pros- 
per, while  they  themselves  have  long  since  vanished  from  the 
earth.  > 

It  would  be  a  difficult  task  to  describe  the  various  and  elegant 
forms  of  the  feathery  appendages  which  serve  to  waft  the  seeds 
through  the  air.  Nothing  can  exceed  in  lightness  and  beauty 
the  downy  tufts  which  surmount  the  grains  of  the  dandelion, 
the  thistle,  the  chickory,  and  so  many  others  of  our  compound 
flowers;  and  though  not  one  of  them  resembles  the  other, 
each  fully  answers  its  purpose.  Here,  as  in  every  other  case, 
the  Creator  has  not  only  provided  for  the  utility  but  also  for 
the  decoration  of  his  works. 

The  seeds  of  many  of  our  forest-trees  are  fitted  for  dispersion 
by  means  of  an  attached  wing,  as  in  the  case  of  the  fir-tree,  the 
elm,  the  birch,  the  ash,  the  maple,  so  that  they  are  caught  up  by 
the  wind  as  they  fall,  and  are  carried  to  a  distance.  As  winds 
often  prevail  for  days,  weeks,  or  even  months  together,  in  the 
same  direction,  this  means  of  transportation  may  sometimes 
be  without  limits,  and  even  the  heavier  grains  may  be  borne 


86  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

through  considerable  spaces  in  a  very  short  time  during  ordi- 
nary tempests ;  for  strong  gales,  which  can  sweep  along  grains  of 
sand,  often  move  at  the  rate  of  about  forty  miles  an  hour.  The 
hurricanes  of  tropical  regions,  which  root  up  trees  and  throw 
down  buildings,  may  carry  even  the  heavier  fruits  and  seeds 
over  friths  and  seas  of  considerable  width,  and  doubtless  are 
often  the  means  of  introducing  into  islands  the  vegetation  of 
adjoining  continents. 

Whirlwinds  are  also  instrumental  in  bearing  along  heavy 
vegetable  substances  to  considerable  distances.  Slight  ones  may 
frequently  be  observed  in  our  fields  in  summer,  carrying  up 
haycocks  into  the  air,  and  then  letting  fall  small  tufts  of  hay 
far  and  wide  over  the  country ;  but  they  are  sometimes  so  power- 
ful as  to  dry  up  lakes  and  ponds,  and  to  break  off  the 
boughs  of  trees  and  carry  them  up  in  a  whirling  column  of  air. 
As  this  cause  operates  at  different  intervals  of  time  throughout 
a  great  portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  it  may  be  the  means  of 
bearing  not  only  plants  but  animals  to  points  which  they  could 
never  otherwise  have  reached,  and  from  which  they  may  then 
begin  to  propagate  themselves  again  as  from  a  new  centre. 

The  long  downy  filaments  which  are  appended  to  the  numer- 
ous seeds  of  the  Gossypias,  or  cotton-plants,  deserve  particular 
notice,  as  they  not  only  waft  them  easily  through  the  air,  but 
serve  also  to  clothe  a  large  portion  of  the  human  race,  and  rank 
as  the  very  first  of  all  the  world-wide  importations  of  England. 
Liverpool  arid  Manchester,  with  their  train  of  minor  stars,  un- 
doubtedly the  scene  of  the  most  gigantic  industry  known  in 
the  history  of  man,  owe  their  prosperity  to  the  wings  with  which 
Providence  has  furnished  the  seeds  of  a  small  and  otherwise 
unimportant  family  of  plants. 

Some  seeds  are  dispersed  by  the  sudden  springing  open  of 
the  elastic  capsule  in  which  they  are  contained.  In  this  manner 
the  seeds  of  the  Balsam  balsamine  are  jerked  to  a  considerable 
distance,  and  the  Ura  crepitans,  an  Indian  shrub,  accompanies 
this  action  with  an  exploding  noise  which  has  been  compared 
with  that  of  a  pistol  shot. 

In  the  dispersion  of  seeds,  rivers  and  marine  currents  arenot  less 
instrumental  than  the  atmospherical  agencies.  The  mountain- 
stream  or  torrent  washes  down  to  the  valley  the  seeds  which 
may  accidentally  fall  into  it,  or  which  it  may  happen  to  sweep 


MODES    OF    DISPERSION.  87 

from  its  banks  when  it  suddenly  overflows  them.  Thus  many 
Alpine  plants  have  found  their  way  as  far  as  Strasburg,  and  the 
Erinus  of  the  high  mountains  has  been  transplanted  by  the 
Eh  one  into  the  neighbourhood  of  Toulon.  The  broad  and 
majestic  river,  winding  along  the  extensive  plain,  and  traversing 
the  continents  of  the  world,  conveys  to  the  distance  of  many 
hundreds  of  miles  the  seeds  that  may  have  vegetated  at  its 
source.  Thus  the  southern  shores  of  the  Baltic  are  visited  by 
seeds  which  grew  in  the  interior  of  Germany,  and  the  western 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  by  seeds  that  have  been  generated  in 
the  central  forests  of  America. 

The  marine  currents  even  carry  seeds  over  the  broad  bosom 
of  the  ocean  from  continent  to  continent.  Fruits  indigenous  to 
America  and  the  West  Indies,  such  as  that  of  the  Mimosa  scan- 
dens,  the  cashew-nut,  and  others,  have  been  known  to  be  drifted 
across  the  Atlantic  by  the  Grulf-stream  on  the  western  coasts  of 
Europe,  in  such  a  state  that  they  might  have  vegetated  had  the 
climate  and  soil  been  favourable.  Among  these  the  Guilandina 
bonduc,  a  leguminous  plant,  is  particularly  mentioned  as  having 
been  raised  from  a  seed  found  on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland. 

On  the  shores  of  Orcadia,  a  sort  of  fruit  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  Molucca  or  Orkney  beans  are  found  in  large 
quantities,  particularly  after  storms  of  westerly  wind.  These 
beans  are  the  produce  of  West  Indian  trees,  and  find  their  way 
from  the  woods  of  Cuba  and  Jamaica  by  means  of  the  Gulf- 
stream. 

As  the  seeds  destined  for  long  aerial  migrations  are  light,  and 
frequently  furnished  with  wings  or  with  downy  and  feathery 
appendages,  thus  the  seeds  of  the  littoral  plants,  whose  dispersion 
chiefly  takes  place  through  the  instrumentality  of  aqueous 
agents,  are  generally  provided  with  hard  water-proof  shells,  so 
that  they  may  be  wafted  over  the  vast  ocean  without  losing  their 
germinating  power.  Islands,  moreover,  and  even  the  smallest 
rocks,  play  an  important  part  in  aiding  such  migrations ;  for 
when  seeds  alight  upon  them  from  the  atmosphere,  or  are  thrown 
up  by  the  surf,  they  often  vegetate  and  supply  the  winds 
and  waves  with  a  repetition  of  new  and  uninjured  crops  of 
fruit  and  seeds.  These  may  afterwards  pursue  their  voyage 
through  the  air  or  along  the  surface  of  the  sea  in  the  same 
direction.  The  number  of  plants  found  at  any  given  time  on 


83  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

an  islet  affords  us  no  test  whatever  of  the  extent  to  which  it 
may  have  co-operated  towards  this  end,  since  a  variety  of  species 
may  first  thrive  there,  and  then  perish,  and  be  followed  by  other 
chance  comers  like  themselves. 

Nothing  can  be  more  remarkable  than  the  very  peculiar 
manner  in  which  the  seeds  of  the  Mangroves,  those  wonderful 
trees  whose  semi-aquatic  reign  extends  along  the  margin  of  the 
tides,  have  been  made  to  harmonise  with  the  locality  in  which 
they  are  destined  to  thrive.  They  germinate  on  the  branches, 
and,  increasing  to  a  considerable  length,  finally  fall  down  into 
the  mud,  where  they  stick  with  their  sharp  point  buried,  and 
soon  take  root.  Other  seeds  are  furnished  with  wings  that  the 
winds  may  carry  them  far  away ;  others,  enveloped  in  water- 
proof shells,  float  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  are  drifted  by 
the  currents  to  distant  coasts  ;  but  here  we  have  a  tree  whose 
seeds  were  destined  to  remain  fixed  on  an  uncertain  soil,  close 
to  the  parent  plant,  and  surely  this  purpose  could  not  have  been 
fulfilled  in  a  more  beautiful  manner. 

Besides  the  elementary  agencies  of  the  winds  and  currents, 
nature  has  still  other  resources  for  conveying  seeds  to  a  distance 
from  their  place  of  growth.  The  various  tribes  of  animals  are 
busily  engaged  in  furthering  an  object  whence  they  themselves 
derive  such  important  advantages.  Sometimes  an  express  pro- 
vision is  found  in  the  structure  of  seeds  to  enable  them  to  adhere 
firmly  by  prickles,  hooks,  and  hairs,  to  the  coats  of  animals 
or  feathers  of  the  winged  tribe,  to  which  they  remain  attached 
for  weeks  or  even  months,  and  are  borne  along  into  every  region 
whither  birds  or  quadrupeds  may  migrate.  Few  have  failed  to 
mark  the  locks  of  wool  hanging  on  the  thorn-bushes  wherever 
the  sheep  pass,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  wolf  or  lion  never 
give  chase  to  herbivorous  animals  without  being  unconsciously 
instrumental  in  the  diffusion  of  plants.  A  deer  has  strayed  from 
the  herd,  when  browsing  on  some  rich  pasture,  when  he  is  sud- 
denly alarmed  by  the  approach  of  his  foe.  He  instantly  takes 
to  flight,  dashing  through  many  a  thicket,  and  swimming  across 
many  a,  river  and  lake.  The  seeds  of  the  herbs  and  shrubs, 
which  have  adhered  to  his  smoking  flanks,  are  washed  off  again 
by  the  waters.  The  thorny  spray  is  torn  off,  and  fixes  itself 
in  his  hairy  coat,  until  brushed  off  again  in  other  thickets  and 


ANIMAL   AGENCY.  89 

copses.  Even  on  the  spot  where  the  victim  is  devoured,  many 
of  the  seeds  which  he  had  swallowed  immediately  before  the 
chase  may  be  left  on  the  ground  uninjured  and  ready  to  spring 
up  in  a  new  soil. 

The  passage,  indeed,  of  undigested  seeds  through  the  stomachs 
of  animals  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  causes  of  the  dissemina- 
tion of  plants.  Thus,  a  flight  of  larks  will  fill  the  cleanest 
field  with  a  great  quantity  of  various  kinds  of  plants,  as  the 
melilot,  trefoil,  and  others,  whose  seeds  are  so  heavy  that  the 
wind  is  not  able  to  scatter  them  to  any  distance.  Pulpy  fruits 
serve  quadrupeds  and  birds  as  food,  while  their  seeds,  often 
hard  and  indigestible,  pass  uninjured  through  the  intestines? 
and  are  deposited  far  from  their  original  place  of  growth,  in  a 
condition  peculiary  fit  for  vegetation.  In  this  manner  the 
Gruava-tree,  first  introduced  into  the  island  of  Tahiti  about  half 
a  century  ago,  has  been  so  copiously  disseminated  by  the  birds 
and  cattle  as  to  become  the  plague  of  the  country.  In  their 
greedy  attempts  to  monopolise  the  spice  trade,  the  Dutch 
endeavoured  to  confine  the  Nutmeg-tree  to  the  narrow  precincts 
of  Banda,  by  extirpating  it  on  all  other  islands  where  it 
naturally  grew ;  but  their  baseness  was  defeated  by  the  wild 
pigeons,  who,  dropping  the  undigested  nuts  in  their  excursions 
over  the  Moluccas  and  neighbouring  islands,  continually  showed 
them  that  man  cannot  possibly  succeed  when  striving  against 
the  intentions  of  nature. 

The  sudden  deaths  to  which  great  numbers  of  frugivorous 
birds  are  annually  exposed  must  not  be  omitted,  as  auxiliary 
to  the  transportation  of  seeds  to  new  habitations.  When  the 
ebbing  sea  withdraws  from  the  shore,  and  leaves  fruits  and 
seeds  on  the  beach  or  in  the  mud  of  estuaries,  it  might  by  the 
returning  tide  wash  them  away  again,  or  destroy  them  by  long 
immersions ;  but  when  they  are  gathered  by  land-birds  which 
frequent  the  sea-side,  or  by  waders  and  water-fowl,  they  are 
often  borne  inland ;  and  if  the  bird  to  whose  crop  they  have 
been  consigned  is  killed,  they  may  be  left  to  grow  up  far  from 
the  sea.  Let  such  an  accident  happen  but  once  in  a  century, 
it  will  be  sufficient  to  spread  many  of  the  plants  from  one 
continent  to  another ;  for  in  estimating  the  activity  of  these 
causes,  we  must  not  consider  whether  they  act  slowly  in  relation 


90  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

to  the  period  of  our  observation,  but  in  reference  to  the  duration 
of  species  in  general. 

Let  us  trace  the  operation  of  this  cause  in  connexion  with 
others.  A  tempestuous  wind  bears  the  seeds  of  a  plant  many 
miles  through  the  air,  and  then  delivers  them  to  the  ocean;  the 
marine  current  drives  them  to  a  distant  continent ;  by  the  fall 
of  the  tide  they  become  the  food  of  numerous  birds,  and  one 
of  these  is  seized  by  a  hawk  or  eagle,  which,  soaring  across  hill 
and  dale  to  a  place  of  retreat,  leaves,  after  devouring  its  prey, 
the  unpalatable  seeds  to  spring  up  and  flourish  in  a  new  soil. 

But  no  bird  or  four-footed  animal  is  so  instrumental  in 
diffusing  plants  over  the  surface  of  the  globe  as  man,  that 
restless  wanderer  who  claims  the  whole  of  it  as  his  inheritance. 
He  transports  with  him  into  every  region  the  vegetables  which 
he  cultivates  for  his  wants ;  through  him  the  potato  has  been 
conveyed  from  the  New  World  to  Europe,  and  the  Cinnamon- 
tree  of  Ceylon  made  to  flourish  in  the  Western  Indies. 

'When  the  introduction  of  cultivated  plants  is  of  recent  date,' 
says  De  Candolle,  '  there  is  no  difficulty  in  tracing  their  origin  ; 
but  when  it  is  of  high  antiquity,  we  are  often  ignorant  of  the 
true  country  of  the  plants  on  which  we  feed.  No  one  contests 
the  American  origin  of  the  maize,  nor  the  origin  in  the  old 
world  of  the  coffee-tree  and  of  wheat.  But  there  are  certain 
objects  of  culture  of  very  ancient  date  between  the  tropics, 
such,  for  example,  as  the  banana,  of  which  the  origin  cannot  be 
verified.  Armies,  in  modern  times,  have  been  known  to  carry  in 
all  directions  grain  and  cultivated  vegetables  from  one  extremity 
of  Europe  to  the  other ;  and  thus  have  shown  us  how,  in  more 
ancient  times,  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  the  distant  expedi- 
tions of  the  Eomans,  and  afterwards  the  Crusades,  may  have 
transported  many  plants  from  one  part  of  the  world  to  the 
other.'  But  besides  the  plants  used  in  agriculture,  or  introduced 
from  foreign  countries  for  the  embellishment  of  our  gardens, 
the  number  which  have  been  naturalised  by  accident,  or  which 
man  has  spread  unintentionally,  is  considerable. 

'  We  have  introduced  everywhere,'  observes  De  Candolle, 
'  some  weeds  which  grow  among  our  various  kinds  of  wheat,  and 
which  have  been  received  perhaps  originally  from  Asia  along 
with  them.  Thus,  together  with  the  Barbary  wheat,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  south  of  Europe  have  sown,  for  many  ages,  the 


AGENCY    OF   MAN.  91 

plants  of  Algiers  and  Tunis.  With  the  wools  and  cottons  of 
the  East,  or  of  Barbary,  there  are  often  brought  into  France 
the  grains  of  exotic  plants,  some  of  which  naturalise  them- 
selves. Of  this  I  will  cite  a  striking  example.  There  is,  at  the 
gate  of  Montpellier,  a  meadow  set  apart  for  drying  foreign 
wool  after  it  has  been  washed.  There  hardly  passes  a  year 
without  foreign  plants  .being  found  naturalised  in  this  drying- 
ground.  I  have  gathered  there  Centaurea  parviftora,  Psoralea 
palcestina,  and  Hypericum  crispum.'  This  fact  is  not  only 
illustrative  of  the  aid  which  man  lends  inadvertently  to  the 
propagation  of  plants,  but  it  also  demonstrates  the  multiplicity 
of  seeds  which  are  borne  about  in  the  woolly  and  hairy  coats 
of  wild  animals.  Many  plants  have  been  naturalised  in  our 
sea-ports  by  the  ballast  of  ships,  and  others  have  spread  through 
Europe  from  botanical  gardens,  so  as  to  have  become  more  com- 
mon than  many  indigenous  species.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
a  ship  from  Japan  was  wrecked  near  Guernsey,  and  to  this  mis- 
fortune the  beautiful  Amaryllis  owes  its  origin,  which  now  serves 
to  decorate  the  island. 

It  is  scarcely  two  centuries  since  the  Canadian  Erigeron,  or 
flea-bane,  was  brought  from  America  to  the  Botanical  Garden  at 
Paris,  and  already  the  seeds  have  been  carried  by  the  winds  over 
France,  the  British  Islands,  Italy,  Sicily,  Holland,  and  Grer- 
many. 

The  cereals,  which  we  originally  received  from  the  distant  East, 
have  followed  our  colonists  to  America  and  Australia,  but  along 
with  them  the  blue  corn-flowers  and  scarlet  poppies,  the  orna- 
ments of  our  fields,  have  wandered  to  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  or 
to  the  plains  of  Victoria,  where  their  well-known  sight  awakens 
many  a  fond  recollection  of  former  days  in  the  heart  of  the  emi- 
grant. The  plantain,  or  rib-wort,  so  common  in  our  fields  and 
meadows,  follows  everywhere  the  'pale-faces'  into  the  backwoods 
of  America.  Where  the  Indian  sees  this  plant,  he  knows  that 
he  has  not  long  to  tarry  in  the  land  of  his  fathers,  for  the 
despoiling  stranger  is  at  hand. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in  Buenos  Ayres,  the 
thistle  invaded  the  Pampas,  as  the  immense  grass-plains  of 
that  level  country  are  called,  and  in  course  of  time  has  covered 
many  square  miles  with  its  prickly  vegetation.  In  this  con- 
genial soil  its  growth  is  so  luxurious  as  frequently  to  overtop 


92  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATUEE. 

the  rider  on  his  horse,  who  is  more  at  a  loss  to  find  his  way 
through  the  impenetrable  thicket  than  through  the  mazes  of  a 
primeval  forest,  as  it  prevents  him  from  looking  round,  and 
affords  him  no  solid  stem  on  which  he  might  climb  to  ascertain 
his  position.  Thus  these  thistle  wildernesses,  which  owe  their 
origin  to  the  casual  introduction,  perhaps,  of  a  single  seed,  have 
spread  like  a  cancer  over  tracts  of  land  larger  than  many  a 
German  principality,  and  have  become  one  of  the  great  nuisances 
of  the  country,  as  they  not  only  usurp  the  place  of  useful  grasses, 
but  afford,  moreover,  a  secure  retreat  to  the  jaguar,  and  to  the 
still  more  dangerous  banditti,  who  alone  are  acquainted  with 
their  labyrinthine  paths. 

When  we  consider  the  variety  and  efficacy  of  the  means  which 
Providence  uses  for  the  dispersion  of  plants,  the  lightness  of 
many  seeds,  particularly  of  the  lower  cryptogamous  plants,  the 
feathery  or  wing-like  appendages  of  others,  the  constant  agency 
of  the  winds  and  currents,  and  the  scarce  less  active  interference 
of  the  birds,  the  four-footed  animals,  and  man,  we  cannot 
wonder  that,  wherever  vegetation  can  possibly  exist,  it  should 
take  possession  of  the  naked  soil.  The  process  is  more  rapid 
in  the  humid  countries  of  the  tropical  zone,  more  tardy  under 
the  chilling  influence  of  the  wintry  north ;  but  in  course  of  time 
even  the  most  desolate  lava-fields,  in  the  higher  latitudes,  hide 
their  black  waves  of  rugged  stone  under  a  more  friendly  gar- 
ment, for  which  they  are  originally  indebted  to  the  seed-bearing 
winds. 

First,  lichens,  mushrooms,  mosses ;  then,  such  thrifty  herbs  as 
are  content  to  feed  upon  nothing,  have  to  prepare  a  scanty  layer 
of  mould  or  humus  for  the  reception  of  more  pretentious  guests. 
Gradually  some  small  stunted  shrub  makes  its  appearance  here 
and  there  in  some  peculiarly  favoured  spot,  and,  after  all,  re- 
quires vast  powers  of  endurance  to  maintain  itself  on  the  nig- 
gard soil,  exposed  to  the  perpetual  enmity  of  wind  and 
weather.  This  paves  the  way  for  a  more  vigorous  and  fortunate 
race ;  and  as  every  year  adds  something  to  the  vegetation  on 
the  mountain's  side,  and  opposes  increasing  obstacles  to  the 
winds,  the  falling  leaves  and  decaying  herbage  accumulate  more 
and  more,  until  dwarfish  trees  first  find  a  sufficiency  of  soil  to  root 
upon,  and  finally  the  proud  monarch  of  the  forest  spreads  out 
his  powerful  arms,  and  raises  his  majestic  summit  to  the  skies. 


93 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MICROSCOPICAL   PLANTS. 

Uncertain  Limits  between  the  Animal  and  the  Vegetable  "World. — The  simplest 
Forms  of  Plants. — Protococci. — Oscillatorise. — Volvocinse. — Desmidiae. — Dia- 
tomacese. — Their  Importance  in  the  Household  of  the  Seas. — Their  Geological 
Agency. 

THE  limits  between  the  vegetable  and  the  animal  world  are 
by  no  means  so  strictly  denned  as  might  be  supposed  when 
merely  considering  the  higher  classes  of  both  kingdoms.  No 
one  can  possibly  doubt  the  vegetable  nature  of  the  tree  which 
he  sees  firmly  rooted  in  the  soil,  or  be  inclined  to  reckon  the 
swift-winged  bird  among  the  plants ;  but  in  the  lowest  and  small- 
est forms  of  organic  life,  spontaneous  motion  ceases  to  be  the 
distinctive  character  of  animality.  For  the  microscope  has 
taught  us  not  merely  that  the  spores  of  the  algae,  and  many  of 
the  minutest  plants,  possess  a  power  of  spontaneous  movement, 
but  also  that  the  instruments  of  motion,  when  these  can  be  dis- 
covered, are  of  the  very  same  character  in  the  plant  as  in  many 
of  the  lower  animals,  being  little  hair-like  filaments,  termed  cilia 
(from  the  Latin  cilium,  an  eyelash),  by  w-ljose  rhythmical 
vibrations  the  body  of  which  they  form  a  part  is  propelled  in 
definite  directions.  The  peculiar  contractility  of  these  cilia 
cannot  be  accounted  for  in  either  case,  any  better  than  in  the 
other ;  all  we  can  say  is,  that  it  seems,  in  all  probability,  to  de- 
pend upon  the  continued  vital  activity  of  the  living  substance  of 
which  these  filaments  are  prolongations,  and  that  this  contractile 
substance  has  a  composition  essentially  the  same  in  the  plant  as 
in  the  animal.  Thus,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  it 
is  very  difficult  to  lay  down  any  definite  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  two  kingdoms;  the  only  character  which  appears 
to  establish  a  difference  being  that  the  simplest  animals,  like 
the  highest  members  of  their  class,  depend  for  nutriment  upon 


94 


THE  HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


organic  compounds  already  formed,  which  they  take,  in  some  way 
or  other,  into  the  interior  of  their  body ;  while  the  lowest  plants, 
in  common  with  the  highest,  obtain  their  own  alimentary  matter 
by  absorption  from  the  inorganic  elements  (water,  carbonic  acid, 
ammonia,  and  various  salts)  on  their  exterior,  and  take  in  no 
solid  particles  of  any  description.  Judged  by  this  criterion  (the 
only  one  which  has  any  value  in  these  days),  the  sponges,  which 
were  formerly  supposed  to  be  plants,  have  been  definitively 
awarded  to  the  animal  kingdom ;  while  many  minute  organisa- 
tions, which  once  figured  among  the  ranks  of  the  Protozoa,  or 
simplest  animals,  now  find  a  more  correct  place  among  the 
Protophyta,  or  lowest  members  of  the  vegetable  world. 

A  cursory  glance  at  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
minutest  plants  will  give  us  some  idea  of  the  wonders  evolved 
by  the  process  of  life  in  spaces  so  small  as  to  be  invisible  to  the 
naked  eye,  and  show  us  that  Divine  power  shines  forth  as 
brilliantly  in  the  myriads  with  which  it  peoples  a  single  drop  of 
water  as  in  the  creation  of  worlds. 

Among  the  simplest  microscopical  forms  of  vegetable  life  we 


A  Encysted  '  still '  cell  of  Protococcus.  B  c  D  E  P  Divisions  of  encysted  cells  into  two, 
four,  eight,  and  thirty-two.  G  Motile  cells  after  their  escape  from  the  original  cell. 
H  I  K  L  Transformations  of  motile  cells. 

find  the  Protococci,  globular  cells  surrounded   by  a  gelatinous 
envelope,  and  measuring  scarce  YoVo°f  a  ^ne  ^n  diameter,  which 


PROTOPHYT.E.  95 

frequently  spread  themselves  as  a  green  slime  over  the  surface 
of  ponds  and  ditches.  Their  multiplication  by  duplicate  sub- 
division is  so  rapid  that,  in  spite  of  their  minuteness,  extensive 
areas  may  be  quickly  covered,  in  circumstances  favourable  to 
their  growth,  by  the  products  of  one  primordial  cell. 

But  the  most  remarkable  passage  in  the  life-history  of  the 
Protococci  is  their  alternation  between  a  ( still '  and  a  f  motile  ' 
condition.  A  ( still'  cell,  consisting  of  a  colourless  matter, 
through  which  green  or  red-coloured  granules  are  more  or  less 
uniformly  diffused,  forms,  by  repeated  self-divisions,  2,  4,  8,  16, 
32  new  cells  or  segments,  which  are  of  a  very  different  nature 
from  their  inert  parent,  as  they  are  provided  with  one  or  two 
cilia  whose  rhythmical  contractions  propel  them  rapidly  through 
the  water.  For  this  reason  they  were  formerly  supposed  to  be 
animalcules,  and  made  to  figure  in  treatises  on  natural  history  as 
Monades,  Astasiae,  Uvellse,  and  under  a  variety  of  other  names, 
each  change  of  form  resulting  from  the  development  of  their 
growth  being  supposed  to  be  a  different  genus  of  animal. 

By  the  loss  of  their  cilia,  and  the  thickening  of  their  envelope, 
the  f  motile '  cells  pass  into  the  ( still '  form,  and  in  this  con- 
dition they  may  be  completely  dried  up,  and  remain  in  a  state 
of  dormant  vitality  for  many  years.  It  is  in  this  condition 
that  they  are  wafted  about  in  atmospheric  currents  ;  and  being 
brought  down  by  the  rain  into  pools  and  cisterns,  they  may 
rapidly  multiply  and  maintain  themselves  until  the  water  is 
dried  up,  or  any  other  unfavourable  circumstance  occurs  which 
either  kills  them  throughout  or  forces  them  to  pass  from  the 
active  into  the  dormant  condition. 

The  cysts  of  the  animalcules, precipitated  conjointly  with  them 
by  the  rain, find,  through  their  means, an  abundant  nourishment; 
and  thus  a  little  world  of  animals  and  plants  appears,  as  if  by 
magic,  in  the  new  formed  waters.  When  the  ponds  dry  up,  then 
the  encysted  and  apparently  lifeless  animalcules,  and  the  c  still' 
cells  of  the  Protococci,  rise  on  the  wind  into  the  atmospheric 
ocean,  all  ready  for  a  new  precipitation,  and  the  peopling  of 
some  future  pool. 

The  Oscillatorice,  another  tribe  of  microscopical  plants,  con- 
sisting of  continuous  tubular  filaments,  formed  by  the  elonga- 
tion of  their  primordial  cells,  usually  lying  together  in  bundles 
or  in  strata,  and  sometimes  invested  by  gelatinous  sheaths,  are 


96  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

chiefly  remarkable  by  the  peculiar  animal-like  movements  which 
they  exhibit.  If  a  piece  of  the  stratum  of  an  Oscillatoria  be  placed 
in  a  vessel  of  water,  and  allowed  to  remain  there  for  some 
hours,  its  edge  will  first  become  fringed  with  filaments,  radi- 
ating as  from  a  central  point,  with  their  tips  outwards.  These 
filaments,  by  their  constant  oscillatory  movements,  are  con- 
tinually loosened  from  their  hold  on  the  stratum,  cast  into  the 
water,  and  at  the  same  time  propelled  forward ;  and  as  the  oscil- 
lation continues  after  the  filament  has  left  its  nest,  the  little 
swimmer  gradually  moves  along,  till  it  not  only  reaches  the 
edge  of  the  vessel,  but  often,  as  if  in  the  attempt  to  escape  con- 
finement, continues  its  voyage  up  the  sides,  till  it  is  stopped  by 
dryness.  Thus  in  a  very  short  time  a  small  piece  of  Oscilla- 
toria will  spread  itself  over  a  large  vessel  of  water.  This 
rhythmical  movement,  impelling  the  filaments  in  an  undeviating 
onward  movement,  is  evidently  of  a  nature  very  different 
from  the  truly  spontaneous  movements  of  animals,  and  must 
be  considered  simply  as  the  expression  of  certain  vital  changes 
taking  place  in  the  interior  of  the  cells. 

The  Oscillatoria3  are  commonly  of  some  shade  of  green,  but 
not  unfrequently  they  are  of  a  purplish  hue,  and  sometimes  so 
dark  as,  when  in  mass,  to  seem  nearly  black.  They  frequently 
form  green  scums  on  the  surface  of  stagnant  pools,  but  they 
also  occur  in  salt  waters,  and  sometimes  in  such  incredible  quan- 
tities that  Professor  Mayen  once  saw  the  ocean  covered  with 
them  over  a  space  of  seven  hundred  miles.  The  water  swarmed 
with  small  bodies  of  a  stellar  shape  like  snow  flakes,  which,  on 
being  examined  through  the  microscope,  were  found  to  consist 
of  bundles  of  Cscillatoria3. 

Among  the  marvels  of  microscopic  vegetation,  the  Volv ox 
globator,  or  (  globe  animalcule,'  as  it  has  been  called,  from  a 
false  idea  of  its  nature,  holds  a  conspicuous  rank  on  account 
both  of  the  animalcule-like  activity  of  its  movements,  and  of 
the  great  beauty  and  regularity  of  its  form.  Attaining  a  dia- 
meter of  -gL-  of  an  inch,  it  may  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye, 
when  the  drop  containing  it  is  held  up  to  the  light,  swimming 
through  the  water  which  it  inhabits.  Its  onward  motion  is 
usually  of  a  rolling  kind,  but  it  sometimes  glides  smoothly 
along  without  turning  on  its  axis ;  whilst  sometimes,  again,  it 
rotates  like  a  top,  without  changing  its  position,  so  that  it  might 


TfiE    DESMIDIACE.E.  97 

easily  be  mistaken  for  a  single  animal.  But  the  microscope, 
the  great  revealer  of  hidden  wonders,  shows  it  to  be  of  a 
far  different  and  far 
more  complicated  na- 
ture, as  no  less  than 
two  or  three  thousand 
minute  green  spots  or 
cells,  often  connected 
by  green  threads,  and 
each  enjoying  its  in- 
dividual life,  are  here 
united  to  a  hollow 
sphere.  From  each  of 
the  spots  proceed  two 
long  cilia,  so  that  the 
entire  surface  is  be- 
set with  these  vibratile 

Volvox  Globator  (much,  magnified). 

filaments,     to     whose 

combined  action  its  movements  are  due.  Within  the  external 
sphere  there  may  generally  be  seen  from  two  to  twenty  other 
globes  of  darker  colour,  and  of  varying  sizes.  The  smaller  of 
these  are  attached  to  the  inner  surface  of  the  investing  sphere, 
and  project  from  its  cavity ;  but  the  larger  lie  freely  within,  and 
may  often  be  observed  to  revolve  by  the  agency  of  their  own 
ciliary  filaments.  After  a  time  the  original  sphere,  too  narrow 
to  contain  its  growing  progeny,  is  rent  asunder,  and  the  con- 
tained spherules,  swimming  forth  and  speedily  developing 
themselves  into  the  likeness  of  that  within  which  they  have 
been  formed,  in  their  turn  give  birth  to  new  colonies,  the 
parents  of  future  generations. 

Such  is  the  wonderful  history  of  the  Volvox,  whose  countless 
numbers  frequently  cover  the  surface  of  stagnant  ponds  and 
ditches  to  the  depth  of  several  feet,  in  multitudes  so  dense  that 
the  single  spheres  are  hardly  separated  from  each  other  by  in- 
tervals of  three  or  four  times  their  own  diameter. 

Another  highly  interesting  form  of  minute  vegetable  life  is 
that  of  the  Desmidiacece,  simple  cells  generally  independent  of 
each  other,  but  sometimes  joined  together  in  linear  series  by 
means  of  a  gelatinous  exsudation.  The  outer  coat,  which  fre- 
quently possesses  an  almost  horny  consistence,  but  does  not 

ii 


98 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


include  any  mineral  ingredient  in  its  composition,  is  generally 
divided  by  a  sutural  line  into  two  equal  halves,  and  often  orna- 


Desmidiacese. 
A,  Staurastrum  vestitum  ;  B,  S.  aculeatum  ;  c,  S.  paradoxum  ;  D,  E,  S.  brachiatum. 

mented  with  spinous  projections,  presenting  a  very  symmetrical 
arrangement.  These  elegant  little  plants  are  fond  of  standing, 
though  not  stagnant,  water.  Small  shallow  pools,  that  do  not 
dry  up  in  summer,  especially  in  open  exposed  situations,  are 
their  most  congenial  homes.  The  larger  and  heavier  species 
commonly  lie  at  the  bottom,  either  spread  out  as  a  thin  gela- 
tinous substance,  or  collected  into  finger-like  tufts.  Other 
species  form  a  greenish  or  dirty  cloud  upon  the  stems  and  leaves 
of  other  aquatic  plants,  where  they  serve  as  pasture-grounds  for 
Infusoria  and  other  microscopic  animals. 

The  Diatomacece  are  likewise  simple  vegetable  cells  encased 

in  a  flinty  envelope,  consisting 
of  two  valves,  usually  of  the 
most  perfect  symmetry,  closely 
applied  to  each  other  like  the 
valves  of  a  mussel.  The  forms 
of  these  minute  organisms  are 
equally  strange  and  beautiful, 
exhibiting  mathematical  fi- 
gures, circles,  triangles,  and 
parallelograms,  such  as  we  find 
in  no  other  plants,  while  their 
surface  is  often  most  elaborately  sculptured  and  dotted  with 


THE    DIATOMACE^E.  99 

numerous  apertures  to  admit  the  surrounding  water  into  the 
internal  cell.  Many  species  are  always  met  with  entirely  free, 
after  the  process  of  duplicative  subdivision  has  once  been  com- 
pleted; others  remain  adherent,  forming  stripes  or  bands  or 
spirals,  or  even  plant-like  structures  of  exquisite  delicacy  and 
beauty,  such  as  the  Licmophora,  or  Fan-bearer,  which  is  very 
common  .in  April  and  May  on  the  leaves  of  Algae,  and  is  very 
generally  distributed  round  the  British  coasts,  forming  gela- 
tinous masses  of  a  clear  brown  colour  on  the  plants  it  frequents. 

The  Diatomacea?  are  found  in  fresh  water  streams  and  pools, 
but  they  chiefly  abound  in  the  ocean,  no  part  of  which  is  with- 
out its  share  of  this  ever-springing  vegetation.  Within  the 
Atlantic  circle,  Dr.  Hooker  found  them  washed  up  in  myriads  by 
the  sea  on  to  the  f  pack  and  bergs,'  everywhere  staining  the  ice 
and  snow  of  a  pale  ochreous  brown.  Floating  masses  of  ice  when 
melted  yielded  them  in  countless  millions,  and  the  sounding- 
lead  constantly  brought  them  up  from  depths  that  would  have 
engulphed  Chimborazo. 

The  guano  of  the  Chincha  Islands  contains  innumerable 
shells  of  Diatomacese,  which  the  birds,  through  whose  intestinal 
canals  they  must  have  passed,  drew  forth  with  their  prey  out 
of  the  abounding  water ;  and  they  are  found  in  the  dust  which, 
wafted  from  the  Sahara  by  the  hot  breath  of  the  desert,  fre- 
quently falls  upon  the  decks  of  ships  300  miles  from  the  African 
coast. 

The  indestructible  nature  of  their  flinty  coverings  has  also 
served  to  perpetuate  them  from  time  immemorial.  Man  and 
all  the  higher  animals  pass  away,  and  scarcely  a  vestige  of  their 
existence  remains,  but  the  Diatomacese  build  for  eternity. 
Without  cessation  their  remains  are  deposited  upon  the  bottom 
of  the  sea ;  without  cessation  they  are  raising  submarine  banks, 
and  filling  up  estuaries  and  channels.  At  first  sight  it  may  seem 
a  gross  exaggeration  to  attribute  so  vast  an  agency  to  beings 
so  minute,  but  when  we  recollect  how  quickly  they  multiply  by 
division,  and  how  their  activity  dates  from  the  first  dawn  of 
organic  creation,  their  architectural  powers  no  longer  seem  in- 
credible. In  forty-eight  hours  a  single  Diatomacea  is  able  to 
multiply  to  eight  millions,  and  in  four  days  to  one  hundred  and 
forty  billions,  when  the  silicious  coverings  of  its  enormous  pro- 
geny would  already  suffice  to  fill  up  a  space  of  two  cubic  feet ; 

H  2 


100  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 

no  wonder  then  that,  during  the  course  of  ages,  these  micro- 
scopic plants  have  been  able  to  form  prodigious  strata  wherever 
circumstances  favoured  their  propagation. 

Under  the  whole  city  of  Kichmond  in  Virginia,  and  far 
beyond  its  limits,  over  an  area  of  unknown  extent,  they  consti- 
tute a  stratum  of  eighteen  feet  in  thickness ;  and  similar  depo- 
sits are  found  in  the  Island  of  Mauritius,  in  the  province  of  Oran 
in  Algeria,  in  Bermuda,  in  the  heaths  of  Luneburg  in  Hanover, 
and  numberless  other  localities,  so  that  there  is  scarce  a  coun- 
try on  earth  where  their  fossil  remains  have  not  left  the  traces 
of  their  history  in  broad  geological  features.  Nor  are  they  of 
less  importance  in  the  great  household  of  living  creation.  In 
the  Antarctic  Ocean,  where  there  is  a  marked  deficiency  of 
higher  forms  of  vegetation,  they  supply  the  chief  food  of  the 
minor  aquatic  animals,  which  in  their  turn  serve  as  prey  to  the 
fishes  and  Cetaceans.  And  not  only  in  the  vast  deserts  of  the 
Polar  Seas,  but  wherever  they  abundantly  germ  forth,  under 
the  stones  of  mountain-streams  or  in  shallow  pools,  or  in 
road-side  ditches,  they  afford  nourishment  to  an  amazing  multi- 
tude of  small  creatures.  It  is  not  useless  that  their  propagation 
is  so  rapid,  since  enormous  losses  have  constantly  to  be  repaired, 
and  not  in  vain  that  they  abound  in  the  most  inhospitable  seas, 
where  but  for  them  no  sea  bird  would  flap  its  wings  and  no  dol- 
phin dart  through  the  desert  waters. 


101 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


MICROSCOPICAL   PROTOZOA. 


Ehizopods  and  Foraminifera — Their  Geological  Importance — Luminousness  of  the 
Sea — The  Noctiluca  miliaris — Polycystina — Infusoria — Vorticellse — Ophrydinse 
— Eapid  Multiplications  of  the  Infusoria. 

THE  first  traces  of  animal  life,  such  as  they  dawn  forth  in  the 
Protozoa,  are  scarcely  less  interesting  to  the  reflecting  mind  than 
the  study  of  its  highest  and  most  developed  forms.  They  are 
generally  of  a  size  so  minute  that  the  naked  eye  is  either  inca- 
pable of  discerning  them,  or  unable  to  distinguish  their  several 
parts;  and  one  of  the  most  splendid  inventions  of  human  inge- 
nuity was  necessary  to  make  us  acquainted  with  their  existence. 
As  the  astronomer  at  every  improvement  of  the  telescope 
sees  new  worlds  beam  forth  from  yet  more  distant  abysses  of 
space,  thus,  as  the  microscope  increases  in  power,  new  forms  of 
hitherto  invisible  life  reveal  themselves  to  the  zoologist  in  a 
drop  of  water,  in  the  sand  of  the  sea,  or  in  the  dust  wafted 
together  by  the  wind. 

Armed  with  this  marvel- 
lous instrument,  he  has  as  it 
were  called  forth  an  entirely 
new  creation  out  of  nothing, 
and  discovered  a  little  world 
of  animated  beings,  where  to 
his  predecessors  all  seemed 
blank  and  void. 

As  far  as  science  has  hither- 
to ascertained,  the  Rhizo- 
pods  occupy  the  lowest  grade  Amceba. 

in  the  scale  of  these  primitive  beings.  They  are  partly  naked, 
partly  enclosed  in  a  shell,  and  owe  their  name  to  the  filaments, 


102 


THE   HARMONIES    OF  NATURE. 


^ 


or  feet,  which  they  are  constantly  protruding  either  for  loco- 
motion or  for  the  seizure  of  their  food. 

The  naked  Ehizopods  consist  of  minute  specks  of  a  semi- 
fluid, j  elly-like,  but 
granular  matter, 
the  particles  of 
which,  when  the 
animal  is  in  a  state 
of  activity,  are  con- 
tinually perform- 
ing a  circulatory 
movement.  This 
substance,  which 

Showing  the  extemporaneous  feet  formed  by  evanescent  pro-         naS      been      termed 
jections  of  the  general  plastic  mass  of  the  animal.  (  -.     ,      ,  , , 

naturalists,  is  so  plastic  that  the  filaments  protruded  from 
the  homogeneous  mass,  and  again  withdrawn  into  it,  subdivide 
into  finer  and  still  finer  threads,  and  are  capable  of  blending 
with  each  other  whenever  they  come  into  contact.  Thus  they 
are  able  to  cast  a  perfect  network  round  their  prey,  and  to 
embed  it  in  a  living  mucus  until  all  its  soluble  parts  have  been 
absorbed.  They  have  no  stomach,  no  mouth,  no  muscles,  no 
nerves,  but  each  atom  of  their  tiny  composition  is  capable  in 
turn  of  seizing,  of  digesting,  and  of  moving. 

Other  creatures  excite  our  wonder  by  their  complicated  struc- 
ture, these  by  the  excessive  simplicity  of  their  organisation. 

Between  the  families  of  the  naked  Khizopods  and  the  shell- 
clad  Foraminifera  there  are  groups  of  intermediate  types,  which 
seemingly  indicate  the  path  of  progress  from  the  lower  to  the 
higher  forms  of  these  simple  creatures.  Sometimes  the  shell 
of  the  Foraminifera  consists  of  only  one  chamber  ;  in  most  cases, 
however,  it  contains  a  large  number  of  cells,  arranged  in  a  vast 
variety  of  forms.  Sometimes  the  little  animal  protrudes  its 
filaments  through  a  single  aperture,  sometimes  through  innu- 
merable openings  with  which  the  shell  is  everywhere  perforated  ; 
and  when  we  consider  that  the  diameter  of  these  pores  usually 
ranges  from  1 -3,000th  to  1 -10,000th  of  an  inch,  we  can  form 
some  idea  of  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the  foot-like  threads  to 
which  they  afford  a  passage. 

The  elegance  of  shape  of  the  Foraminifera  is  no  less  remark- 


THE   FORAMINIFERA.  103 

able  than  their  variety  of  form,  which  may  well  be  called  im- 
mense, as  no  less  than  2,400  living  and  fossil  species  have 


A  Forammiferi  (Rotalia  ornataj  with  its  filaments  extended. 

already  been  distinguished  by  naturalists.  Here  we  see  a  group 
resembling  exquisitely  moulded  flasks,  or  amphorae,  with 
beautifully  fluted  sides ;  there  another  alternately  dilating  and 
expanding  like  a  string  of  chiselled  beads ;  whilst  others  again 
exhibit  the  graceful  spiral  of  the  nautilus. 

One  of  their  most  striking  features  is  their  marvellous  minute- 
ness. Janus  Plancus,  who  first  discovered  them  in  the  strand 
of  Rimini,  in  the  year  1731,  counted  about  6,000  of  their  shells 
in  a  single  ounce  of  drift-sand ;  and  Professor  Schultze,  of 
Bonn,  found  no  less  than  a  million  and  a  half  in  the  same 
quantity  of  pulverised  quartz,  from  the  shore  of  Mola  di 
Gaeta.  The  Globigerinse,  which  have  been  found  in  such  vast 
numbers  in  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic,  are  each  about  1-5 Oth  part 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  the  linear  dimensions  of  recent 
British  species  are  said  by  Professor  Greene  to  vary  from 
1 -5,000th  to  1-5 0,000th  of  an  inch  !  But  the  diminutive  world 
of  the  Foraminifera  has  also  its  giants,  particularly  among  the 
fossil  species,  such  as  the  Nummulites,  which  occur  in  such 


104  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATUKE. 

prodigious  numbers  in  the  limestone  of  the  Egyptian  pyramids, 
and  whose  flattened  coin-like  forms  attain  the  comparative 
colossal  diameter  of  from  two  to  three  inches.  All  the  Foramini- 
fera  are  aquatic.  Some  are  found  in  sweet  water,  others  attached 
to  sea-weeds  or  zoophytes,  but  by  far  the  larger  number  in  the 
sand  or  mud  dredged  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Here 
they  frequently  occur  in  such  incalculable  myriads  as  to  form 
no  less  than  half  the  bulk  of  the  sand  with  which  they  are 
mixed.  Thus,  along  the  whole  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United 
States,  the  plummet  constantly  brings  up  masses  of  foraminife- 
rous  shells,  so  that  this  vast  extent  of  ocean-bottom,  which  itself 
forms  but  a  small  part  of  the  domains  they  occupy,  is  literally 
covered  with  their  living  legions  or  their  tenantless  exuviae. 
And  as  the  present  ocean  contains  them  in  countless  multi- 
tudes, thus  have  they  swarmed  in  the  waters  of  the  primeval 
seas  from  the  first  dawn  of  creation,  and  piled  up  the  monu- 
ments of  their  existence  in  vast  strata  of  limestone.  A  great 
part  of  the  rocky  belt  from  Riigen  to  the  Danish  isles,  the 
white  chalk  cliffs,  which,  beginning  in  England,  extend 
through  France  as  far  as  southern  Spain ;  the  limestone  for- 
mations of  Greece  and  Turkey,  whose  importance,  as  natural 
features  of  the  country,  is  by  some  supposed  to  be  indicated  by 
the  names  of  Greta  and  Albania,  are  chiefly  formed  of  the 
shells  of  Foraminifera ;  and  a  zone  of  Nummulite  limestone, 
frequently  a  thousand  miles  broad,  and  in  many  places  of  a 
prodigious  depth,  may  be  traced  from  the  Atlantic  shores  of 
Europe  and  Africa,  through  Western  Asia,  up  to  North  India 
and  China.  So  important  is  the  part  which  these  beings,  in- 
dividually so  minute,  have  performed  and  still  perform  in  the 
geological  annals  of  the  globe. 

The  phosphorescence  of  the  sea  is  one  of  the  most  charming 
phenomena  that  Nature  in  all  her  wide  range  of  beauty  offers 
to  our  admiring  gaze.  Who  that  has  sojourned  on  the  coast, 
or  traversed  the  fields  of  ocean  and  witnessed  it  in  its  full 
splendour,  can  ever  forget  the  deep  impression  made  upon  his 
mind  when  he  first  saw  the  dark  waves  curl  over  in  flashing 
crests  of  light — when  his  vessel's  bows  ploughed  up  the  waters 
in  silvery  furrows,  or  the  rising  flood  broke  in  sheets  of  flame, 
or  spangles  of  diamond  brilliancy,  on  the  glowing  beach  !  Well 
may  we  be  lost  in  wonder  at  so  marvellous,  so  fairy-like  a 


THE    NOCTILUCA    MILIARIS.  105 

spectacle — well  may  we  be  astonished  at  seeing  the  cold 
waters  changed  as  it  were  by  a  magician's  wand  into  cradles 
of  fire !  But  our  admira- 
tion increases  when  on 
enquiry  into  the  causes 
of  the  gorgeous  specta- 
cle we  learn  that  it  is  not 
the  result  of  inanimate 
agencies,  magnetic  or 
electrical,  but  that  it 
derives  its  origin  from  a 
living  source,  and  that 
the  Noctiluca  miliaris, 

a     globular      gelatinous  Noctihica  mmaris  (much  magnified). 

animalcule,  nearly  re- 
lated to  the  Rhizopods,  is  the  chief  illuminator  of  the  seas ! 

This  wonderful  little  creature  is  just  large  enough  to  be  dis- 
cerned by  the  naked  eye  when  the  water  in  which  it  may  be 
swimming  is  contained  in  a  glass  jar  exposed  to  the  light ; 
and  a  tail-like  appendage  marked  with  transverse  rings,  which 
serves  as  an  instrument  of  locomotion,  becomes  apparent  under 
a  slight  magnifying  power.  Near  the  point  of  its  implantation 
in  the  body  is  a  definite  mouth  leading  into  a  large  irregular 
cavity,  apparently  channelled  out  in  the  jelly-like  substance  of 
the  body.  The  external  coat  is  denser  than  the  contained  sar- 
code,  and  the  former  sends  thread-like  prolongations  through 
the  latter,  so  as  to  divide  the  entire  body  into  irregular  cham- 
bers. (  The  nature  of  its  luminosity,'  says  Dr.  Carpenter,  f  is 
found  by  microscopic  examination  to  be  very  peculiar,  for  what 
appears  to  the  eye  to  be  a  uniform  glow,  is  resolvable  under  a 
sufficient  magnifying  power  into  a  multitude  of  evanescent  scin- 
tillations; and  these  are  given  forth. with  increased  intensity 
whenever  the  body  of  the  animal  receives  any  mechanical 
shock.' 

To  fill  up  the  length  of  an  inch  it  would  require  170 
Noctilucse  ranged  in  a  line,  and  millions  could  be  con- 
tained in  a  wine-glass.  And  yet  in  every  zone  they  make  the 
wide  surface  of  the  nocturnal  ocean  glow  and  sparkle  with  an 
elfish  light. 

Among  the  microscopic  wonders  of  the  ocean,  the  Polycystina, 


106 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE 


first  discovered  by  Professor  Ehrenberg,  at  Cuxhaven,  on  the 
North  Sea,  occupy  a  conspicuous  rank,  both  by  their  numbers 
and  their  beauty  and  variety  of  form.  The 
sarcode  body  of  these  minute  siliceous  shells 
extends  itself  like  that  of  the  Foraminifera 
into  foot-like  prolongations,  which  pass  through 
the  larger  apertures  by  which  they  are  per- 
forated. It  is  a  peculiar  feature  of  these  ele- 
gant shells  (whose  delicate  sculpture  frequently 
reminds  the  observer  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  the  hollow  ivory  balls  carved  by  the  Chinese), 
that  they  are  usually  surmounted  by  a  number 
of  spine-like  projections,  very  frequently  having 
a  radiate  disposition.  Some  have  an  oblong 
shape,  others  a  discoid  form,  from  the  circum- 
ference of  which  the  siliceous  spines  project  at 
regular  intervals,  so  as  to  give  them  a  star- 
They  are  generally  of  smaller  size  than  even 
the  Foraminifera,  and  appear  to  be  almost  as  widely  diffused, 
as  they  have  been  brought  up  by  the  sounding-lead  from  the 
bottom  of  the  Atlantic  and  from  the  abysses  of  the  Antarctic  seas. 
They  also  have  largely  contributed  to  the  structure  of  the 
earth-mud  ;  their  siliceous  deposits  abound  in  the  marls  of  Sicily 
and  Greece,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  rock  that  prevails 
through  an  extensive  district  of  the  island  of  Barbadoes  is  chiefly 
composed  of  their  remains. 


Polyuystma. 


like    aspect. 


Stentor    Roeselii   (highly  magnified). 


The  Infusoria,  which  owe  their  name  to  the  circumstance  of 
their  having  been  first  discovered  in  artificial  infusions  of  organic 


THE    INFUSOKIA. 


107 


substances,  occupy  the  highest  rank  in  the  Protozoic  world. 
They  are  all  exceedingly  minute,  but  of  various  dimensions  ; 
the  greater  number  being  individually  in  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
while  some,  like  the  Stentor,  attain  the  comparattvely  large 
size  of  l-30th  of  an  inch.  This  beautiful  creature  resembles  a 
gelatinous  trumpet,  and  is  flexible  and  contractile  in  all  direc- 
tions, either  while  swimming  about  freely  in  the  water,  or  while 
attached,  as  it  frequently  is,  to  some  foreign  body  by  means  of 
a  little  sucking  disk  which  terminates  the  pointed  extremity  of 
the  tail. 

The  various  species  of  Infusoria  exhibit  a  great  diversity 
of  form — globular,  oval,  cylindrical,  thread-like.  Most  of  them 
are  free  in  their  movements,  some  permanently  attached  to 
stalks;  by  far  the  greater  number  are  colourless  and  trans- 
parent, while  some  have  a  yellowish,  greenish,  or  reddish  tinge. 
Compared  with  the  Pro- 
tozoic families  already 
described,  their  higher 
organic  development  is 
chiefly  exhibited  by  their 
possession  of  a  mouth  and 
rudimentary  digestive  or- 
gan, while  well-marked 
cilia  or  hair-like  append- 
ages,disposed  either  along 
the  entire  margin  of  the 
body,  as  well  as  around  the 
oval  aperture,  or  limited 
to  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  mouth,  serve  them  as  instruments  of  prey  and  loco- 
motion. During  the  life  of  the  animal  these  cilia  are  in 
almost  constant  action,  their  motion  consisting  of  bends  in 
rapid  succession  from  base  to  point,  and  of  an  immediate 
return  to  the  original  position,  not  unlike  the  undulating 
motion  of  a  cornfield  under  the  influence  of  the  wind. 

Thus  currents  or  vortices  are  produced  which  enable  their 
tiny  possessors  to  ingulf  the  still  more  tiny  prey  that  comes  with- 
in reach  of  their  irresistible  whirlpools.  The  exceeding  minute- 
ness, as  well  as  the  rapid  movements  of  the  cilia,  often  make  it 
difficult  to  observe  them,  though,  when  invisible,  their  existence 


Various  Forms  of  Infusoria. 
.  Coleps  hirtus.    3,  4.  Trachelms  anas.    5.  Tra- 

chelms  ovum. 
o,  mouth  ;  a,  outlet  of  alimentary  canal. 


108  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

may  be  frequently  inferred  from  the  agitation  of  minute 
particles  in  the  currents  they  produce.  Simple  as  these  organs 
are,  they  harmonise  beautifully  with  the  wants  of  the  little 
creatures  to  whom  they  have  been  given;  they  are  useful  as 
oars,  as  arms,  as  tentacles ;  they  hurry  along  the  food  with- 
out further  trouble  to  the  mouth  ;  they  serve  also  for  respira- 
tion, by  bringing  successive  portions  of  water  into  contact  with 
the  surface  of  the  animal,  and  are  indeed  no  less  admirable  in 
their  way  than  the  elephant's  proboscis  or  the  chameleon's  tongue. 
Sometimes  instead  of  a  multitude  of  short  cilia,  as,  for  instance, 
in  Leucophrys  patula,  we  find  a  small  number  of  long  slender 
filaments,  usually  proceeding  from  the  vicinity  of 
the  mouth,  while  in  other  cases  the  filaments  are 
comparatively  short,  and  have  a  bristle-like  firm- 
ness, and  instead  of  being  kept  in  vibration  they 
are  moved  by  the  contraction  of  the  substance 
to  which  their  bases  are  attached,  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  animalcule  crawls  by  their  means 

Leucophrys         °V6r    a   SOlid  SUrfaCC. 

patuia.  Thus  in  this  little  world  of  animalcules,  which 

still  contains  so  many  unravelled  secrets,  we  find  almost  all  the 

modes  of  movement  of  the 
higher  aquatic  animals — 
the  darting  of  the  fish,  the 
hop  of  the  Daphnia,  the 
gyrations  of  the  water- 
beetle,  and  the  tardy 
creeping  of  the  leech. 

The  bell-shaped  Vor- 
ticella,  one  of  the  largest, 
is  also  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  interesting 
of  the  Infusoria.  In  its 
first  youth  it  swims  freely 
about  in  the  stagnant 
waters,  but  at  a  later 
period  it  attaches  itself 
™  by  a  long  stalk  (g)  to  the 

b,c,d,e,f,  exhibit  the  various  steps  of  fissiparous  leaves    of   dlick-weed    Or 

reproduction  in  this  animalcule 

the  carapaces  or  shells  of  water-fleas  or  lacustrine  snails,  where 


THE    OPHRYDIN.E.  109 

it  frequently  presents  the  appearance  of  a  group  of  exquisite 
microscopic  flowers.  The  rim  of  the  vase-like  body  is  tipped 
with  a  spiral  of  cilia,  one  end  of  the  circling  row  descend- 
ing a  short  distance  down  the  side  of  the  vase  to  a  point 
where  the  oral  aperture  of  the  creature  is  placed.  When  the 
Vorticella  is  in  search  of  food  with  its  cilia  in  active  vibration, 
the  stalk  is  fully  extended,  but  at  the  slightest  disturbance  it 
shrinks  into  close  spiral  folds  so  as  to  draw  the  little  bell  as  far 
as  possible  from  danger. 

The  Ophrydinse,  another  family  of  Infusoria,  are  remarkable 

for  their  being  usually  found  embedded  in  a  gelatinous  mass  of 

greenish  colour,  which  is 

sometimes  adherent,  some- 
times free,  and  may  attain 

the  diameter  of  four  or  five 

inches,  presenting  such  a 

strong  general  resemblance 

to  a  mass  of  frog's  spawn 

,  -i  •    ,    i  nn    Section  of  a  portion  of  the  periphery  of  Ophry 

as  to  have  been  mistaken  dram  versatile, 

fr»r     <ann"h         "From     fl    POTTl-     showing  the  manner  in  which  the  individual  animal- 
cules are  implanted  in  the  mass. 

parison  of  the  dimensions 

of  the  individual  Ophrydia,  each  of  which  is  about  -J±Q  of  an 
inch  in  length,  with  those  of  the  composite  masses,  some 
estimate  may  be  formed  of  the  number  included  in  the  latter, 
for  a  cubic  inch  would  contain  nearly  eight  millions  of  them ; 
and  many  times  that  number  must  exist  in  the  larger  masses, 
even  making  allowance  for  the  gelatinous  cushion  which  enve- 
lopes the  individual  animalcule. 

In  the  water  all  these  congregated  animalcules  are  disposed 
in  close  rows,  something  in  the  same  manner  as  in  Volvox.  On 
shaking  the  mass,  many  others  show  themselves  within,  between 
the  former,  so  as  to  form  from  three  to  five  different  ranks. 
At  first  all  the  gelatinous  cells  appear  to  be  connected  with  the 
centre  of  the  mass  by  filamentary  prolongations,  but  these  dis- 
appear as  they  proceed  internally,  so  that  the  middle  of  these 
wonderful  animated  little  globes  seems  to  be  hollow  and  full  of 
water. 

The  Infusoria  are  almost  exclusively  aquatic ;  most  of  them 
live  in  ponds,  morasses,  pools,  wells,  or  cisterns ;  many  are 
marine,  but  a  few  are  found  both  in  sweet  and  saltwater.  Some 


110  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

exist  in  moist  earth,  others  lead  a  parasitic  life,  not  only  in  the 
stomach  of  frogs  and  earth-worms  but  even  in  the  body  of  other 
Infusoria. 

Of  all  animals  they  enjoy  the  widest  range  of  habitation,  and 
several  of  them  may  well  be  called  cosmopolites,  as  they  have 
been  found  in  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  seas,  on  the  coasts,  and  far 
away  on  the  ocean,  on  high  mountains,  and  deep  in  the  mines 
of  Freiberg  in  Saxony. 

Their  reproduction  is  effected  sometimes  by  eggs  or  by  bud- 
ding, but  generally  by  spontaneous  division,  either  longitudi- 
nally or  in  a  transverse  direction,  and  as  this  operation  is 
capable  of  being  repeated  every  six  or  eight  hours,  we  can 
easily  comprehend  how  the  surface  of  clear  stagnant  waters  may 
in  a  short  time  be  covered  with  a  green  mass  consisting  of 
billions  of  Infusoria.  When  we  consider  that  these  minute 
forms  of  life  most  probably  witnessed  the  dawn  of  animal  crea- 
tion, our  imagination  can  form  no  idea  of  the  number  of  gene- 
rations that  must  have  succeeded  each  other  from  their  first 
appearance  on  earth  to  the  present  day ;  but  as  only  a  few  of 
these  are  enclosed  in  a  solid  shell,  their  geological  importance 
is  far  inferior  to  that  of  the  calcareous  Foraminifera  or  of  the 
flint-cased  Diatomacese  and  Desmidiacese. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  passages  in  the  life  history  of  the 
Infusoria  is  the  encysting  process  which  at  certain  times  they 
undergo,  and  which  serves  to  preserve  them  under  circumstances 
which  do  not  permit  the  continuance  of  their  ordinary  vital 
activity.  Previously  to  the  formation  of  1?he  cyst,  the  move- 
ments of  the  animal  diminish  in  vigour  and  gradually  cease 
altogether ;  its  form  becomes  more  rounded ;  its  oral  aperture 
closes,  and  its  cilia  are  either  lost  or  retracted.  The  surface  of 
the  body  then  exudes  a  gelatinous  excretion  which  hardens 
around  it  so  as  to  form  a  complete  coffin-like  case  in  which  the 
torpid  animal  remains  embedded,  until  the  fostering  influences 
of  warmth  and  humidity  again  recall  it  to  an  active  life. 

Incalculable  numbers  of  these  encysted  Infusoria  are  con- 
stantly wafted  about  in  the  atmosphere  or  carried  by  the  winds 
from  land  to  land ;  and  thus  we  can  readily  comprehend  how 
pure  watery  infusions,  when  exposed  to  the  air,  soon  begin  to 
swarm  with  a  little  world  of  the  minutest  animals  and  plants. 

The   ubiquity    and    perfectly    astounding    numbers    of  the 


IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    PROTOZOA.  Ill 

Protozoa  are  sufficient  proofs  of  their  vast  importance  in  the 
household  of  nature.  Along  with  the  Diatoms^  the  Desmidias, 
and  other  microscopical  forms  of  vegetation  on  which  their  own 
existence  depends,  they  evidently  constitute  the  bases  on  which 
the  superstructure  of  all  the  higher  orders  of  animal  life  reposes. 
Hosts  of  Kotiferse,  minute  Crustaceans,  Annelides  and  Acalephae, 
feed  upon  their  inexhaustible  legions,  and  serve  in  their  turn 
to  sustain  animals  of  a  larger  and  still  larger  size,  until  finally 
Man  is  enabled  to  feast  on  the  teeming  abundance  of  the  lakes, 
the  rivers,  and  the  seas. 


112 


THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


SPONGES. 

Their  Animal  Nature  —  Their  remarkable  Structure — Their  Skeleton — Spicula 
— Sensibility  and  Spontaneous  Movements — Their  Mode  of  Propagation — Their 
Importance  in  the  Household  of  the  Seas. 

THE  Sponges,  which  were  formerly  supposed  to  belong  to  the 
world  of  plants,  have  been  proved  by  modern  researches  to 
form  a  peculiar  group  of  Protozoa.  Attached  to  a  solid  base, 
they  revel  like  the  polyps  in  every  variety  of  shape  and  tint, 
imitate  like  them  every  form  of  vegetation,  and  adorn  like  them 
the  submarine  grounds  with  their  fantastic  shrubberies.  More 
than  sixty  different  species  have  been  discovered  in  the  British 
waters  alone,  and  as  they  go  on,  increasing  in  number  and 
beauty  until  they  attain  their  highest  development  along  the 
shores  of  the  Tropical  Ocean,  they  no  doubt  hold  a  conspicuous 
rank  among  the  living  wonders  of  the  sea. 

The  first  object  that  strikes 
us  in  their  organisation  is 
their  skeleton,  which  is  usually 
composed  of  an  irregular  net- 
work of  tough  horny  fibres,  so 
arranged  as  to  form  a  complex 
aggregation  of  canals,  the 
flexibility  of  the  fibres  differ- 
ing in  different  species  of 
sponge.  Generally  this  fibrous 
mass  is  interwoven  with  nu- 
merous mineral  spicules,  which 
serve  to  strengthen  the  fabric 
Portion  of  a  Sponge  (Haiichondna)  with  and  in  some  species  entirely 

spicules  projecting  from  the  fibrous  -•  ji      r  .ci          i.i_ 

network.  replace  the  horny  fibre,  though 

they   are   still    so    arranged    as   to    preserve    the    reticulated 


SPICULA    OF    SPONGES. 


113 


character.  These  spicules  are  of  a  wonderful  variety  and  elegance 
of  form,  for  their  shapes  are  not  only  strictly  determinate  for 
each  species  of  sponge,  but  each  part  of  the  sponge,  it  is  believed, 
has  spicula  of  a  character  peculiar  to  itself.  Sometimes  they 
are  pointed  at  both  ends,  sometimes  at  one  only,  or  one  or  both 
ends  may  be  furnished  with  a  head  like  that  of  a  pin,  or  may 
carry  three  or  more  diverging  points,  which  sometimes  curve 
back  so  as  to  form  hooks.  Sometimes  they  are  triradiate,  some- 
times stellar,  in  some  cases  smooth,  in  others  beset  with  smaller 
spinous  projections  like  the  lance  of  the  saw-fish.  As  they  are 
generally  composed  of  flint,  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  our 
household  sponge  entirely  owes  its  value  to  their  absence  in 
its  highly  flexible  structure.  The  sponge-skeleton  is  covered 
externally  and  along  the  internal  surfaces  of  the  canals  with  a 
gelatinous  or  slimy  substance,  similar  to  that  which  constitutes 
the  body  of  the  Rhizopod,  and  which,  seemingly  inert  and  unor- 
ganised, is  yet  the  seat  of  whatever  life  the  sponge  contains.  It 
is  by  this  slime,  which  may  be  pressed  out  with  the  finger,  that 
the  net-work  is  deposited,  and  from  it  the  whole  growth  of 
the  mass  proceeds. 

On  examining  a  sponge,  the  holes  with  which  the  substance 
is  everywhere  pierced  may  be  seen  to  be  of  two  kinds:  one 
of  larger  size  than  the  rest,  few  in  number,  and  opening  into 
wide  channels  and  tunnels  which  pierce  the  sponge  through 


Kalina  papillaris. 

Currents  passing  inwards  through  the  pores  (a.a),  traversing  the  internal  canals  (6),  and 
escaping  by  the  larger  vents  (c.d). 

its  centre;  the  other  minute,  extremely  numerous,  covering 
the  wide  surface,  and  communicating  with  the  innumerable 
branching  passages  which  make  up  the  body  of  the  skeleton. 


114  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

Through  the  smaller  openings  or  pores  the  circumambient  water 
freely  enters  the  body  of  the  sponge,  passes  through  the  smaller 
canals,  and  ultimately  reaching  the  larger  set  of  vessels,  is 
evolved  through  the  larger  apertures  or  oscula.  Thus  by  a  still 
mysterious  agency  (for  the  presence  of  cilia  has  as  yet  been 
detected  but  in  one  genus  of  full-grown  marine  sponges),  a 
constant  circulation  is  kept  up,  providing  the  sponge  with 
nourishing  particles  and  oxygen,  and  enabling  its  system  of 
channels  to  perform  the  functions  both  of  an  alimentary  tube 
and  a  respiratory  apparatus. 

Dr.  Grant  describes  in  glowing  terms  his  first  discovery  of 
this  highly  interesting  phenomenon.  'Having  put  a  small 
branch  of  sponge  with  some  sea-water  into  a  watch-glass,  in 
order  to  examine  it  with  the  microscope,  and  bringing  one  of 
the  apertures  on  the  side  of  the  sponge  fully  into  view,  I  beheld 
for  the  first  time  the  spectacle  of  this  living  fountain  vomiting 
forth  from  a  circular  cavity  an  impetuous  torrent  of  liquid 
matter,  and  hurling  along,  in  rapid  succession,  opaque  masses, 
which  it  strewed  everywhere  around.  The  beauty  and  novelty 
of  such  a  scene  in  the  animal  kingdom  long  arrested  my  atten- 
tion, but  after  twenty-five  minutes  of  constant  observation,  I 
was  obliged  to  withdraw  my  eye  from  fatigue,  without  having 
seen  the  torrent  for  one  instant  change  its  direction,  or  diminish 
in  the  slightest  degree  the  rapidity  of  its  course.' 

Subsequent  observations  have  proved  that  the  living  sponge 
has  the  power  of  opening  and  closing  at  pleasure  its  oscula, 
which  are  capable  of  acting  independently  of  each  other, 
thus  fully  establishing  the  animal  nature  of  these  simple  organ- 
isations, in  whom  latterly  even  traces  of  sensibility  have  been 
detected,  such  as  one  would  hardly  expect  to  meet  with  in  a 
sponge.  For  these  creatures,  as  we  are  entitled  to  call  them,  are 
able  to  protrude  from  their  oscula  the  gelatinous  membrane  which 
clothes  their  channels,  and  on  touching  these  protruded  parts 
with  a  needle,  they  were  seen  by  Mr.  Gosse  to  shrink  immedi- 
ately , — a  proof  that  the  sponge,  however  low  it  may  rank  in  the 
animal  world,  is  yet  far  from  being  so  totally  inert  or  lifeless 
as  was  formerly  imagined. 

The  propagation  of  the  sponges  is  provided  for  in  a  no  less 
wonderful  manner  than  their  respiration  and  nourishment. 
Their  young  eggs  or  sporules  germinate  on  the  sides  of  the 


PROPAGATION    OF    SPONGES.  115 

canals,  forming  innumerable  minute  bud-like  points.  These,  as 
they  increase  in  size,  are  gradually  clothed  with  vibratile  cilia, 
and  finally  detaching  themselves  are  cast  out  through  the 
oscula  into  the  world  of  waters.  Here  their  wanderings  con- 
tinue for  a  short  time,  until,  if  they  be  not  devoured  on  the 
way,  they  reach  some  rock  or  submarine  body,  on  which,  tired 
of  their  brief  erratic  existence,  they  fix  themselves  for  ever, 
and  bidding  adieu  to  all  further  rambles,  lead  henceforth  the 
quiet  sedentary  life  of  their  parents. 

In  this  manner  the  sponges,  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
confined  to  narrow  limits,  spread  like  a  living  carpet  over  the 
bottom  of  the  seas,  and  in  spite  of  their  being  utterly  defence- 
less maintain  their  existence  from  age  to  age.  At  the  same  time 
they  serve  to  feed  a  vast  number  of  other  marine  animals,  for 
the  waters  frequently  swarm  with  their  eggs,  and  these  afford 
many  a  welcome  repast  to  myriads  of  sessile  shells,  worms, 
polyps,  and  other  creatures  small  or  abstemious  enough  to  be 
satisfied  with  feasting  on  atoms. 


i  2 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

SEA-ANEMONES    AND    LITHOPHYTES. 

Submarine  Gardens. — Internal  Structure  of  the  Sea-anemones.  —  Tentacles.  — 
Urticating  Organs. — Their  Remarkable  Tenacity  of  Life. — Their  Modes  of 
Locomotion. — Lithophy  tes. — Social  Republicans. — Coral-islands. 

WHO  has  ever  sojourned  on  a  rocky  coast,  worn  and  hollowed  by 
the  breakers  of  a  thousand  years,  without  admiring  the  crystal 
tide-pools,  those  charming  relics  of  the  receding  flood,  so  full  of 
all  that  can  fascinate  the  naturalist,  or  enchant  the  poet.  For 
the  calm  and  transparent  waters  of  these  miniature  lakes  harbour 
a  little  world  of  animals  and  plants  of  such  wonderful  variety 
and  elegance  of  form  that  the  eye  never  tires  of  gazing  on  their 
loveliness,  and  the  memory  reckons  them  ever  after  among  the 
chief  beauties  of  the  beautiful  ocean.  There,  bathed  in  liquid 
crystal,  delicate  sea-weeds  spread  their  graceful  fronds,  or  clothe 
the  naked  rock  with  a  velvet  carpet ;  there  annelides,  and  crusta- 
ceans, and  molluscs  of  all  forms  and  colours,  reposing,  wander- 
ing, darting,  creeping,  or  swimming,  enliven  the  ever-changing 
scene,  and  there,  not  the  least  ornament  of  these  fairy  gardens, 
the  radiate  Sea-anemones,  emulating  the  daisies  of  the  fields, 
expand  their  lustrous  disks. 

Desirous  of  plucking  one  of  these  elegant  flowers  of  the  ocean, 
you  extend  your  hand,  but  at  the  slightest  touch  its  beautiful 
coronet  begins  to  curl  and  pucker  its  margin,  and  to  incurve  it 
in  the  form  of  a  cup.  If  further  annoyed,  the  rim  of  this  cup 
contracts  more  and  more,  until  the  animated  blossom,  now 
transformed  into  a  shrivelled  shapeless  mass,  and  receding  all 
the  time  from  the  rude  assault,  retires  under  the  cover  of  its 
rocky  fortress,  or  clings  with  such  tenacity  to  the  stone  to  which 
it  is  attached  that  you  will  sooner  tear  it  to  pieces  than  make 
it  forego  its  grasp. 


THE   SEA -ANEMONE.  117 

This  wonderful  daisy  of  the  waters,  this  flower-like  creature, 
which  thus  evidently  reveals  its  true  animal  nature,  is  dis- 
seminated over  the  ocean  in  numerous  genera  and  species, 
forming  one  of  the  families  of  the  wide-spread  class  of  the 
polyps.  In  all  the  Sea-anemones  we  find  an  oval  or  oblong 


Actinia  Alcyonoidea. 

mouth,  leading  into  a  sack-like  stomachal  cavity,  and  surrounded 
by  a  crown  of  tentacles,  sometimes  resembling  a  Gorgon's  head 
of  long  thick  worms  clothed  in  satin  and  velvet,  and  sometimes 
forming  a  dense  thicket  of  slender  filaments.  The  colours  of 
these  wonderful  organs  are  as  various  as  their  dimensions — 
scarlet,  green,  azure,  orange,  or  milk-white, — but  their  beauty 
only  appears  when  in  the  expanded  state,  for  the  contracted 
sea-anemone  is  grey  or  brown  like  the  stone  to  which  it  clings. 
Veiling  its  beauty  under  this  homely  disguise,  it  no  doubt  escapes 
many  dangers,  and  the  sand  and  shell-fragments  that  frequently 
remain  attached  to  its  viscid  body  still  further  help  to  screen  it 
from  its  enemies.  Its  flowery  disk  spreading  over  a  carpet  of 
algae,  the  Actinia,  seemingly  as  insensible  as  the  surrounding  sea- 
weeds, might  well  be  taken  for  the  image  of  harmless  innocence ; 
but  woe  to  the  nimble  cyclops,  or  to  the  wandering  annelide, 


118 


THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 


that  comes  within  its  reach,  for,  seized  by  its  irresistible  arms, 
it  is  soon  conveyed  to  the  gaping  mouth,  ever  ready  to  ingulf 
it  in  a  living  tomb.  Yet  it  is  not  by  brute  force  alone  that  the 
rapacious  polyp  thus  overpowers  its  prey,  but  by  means  of  those 
remarkable  *  thread,  or  urticating  cells '  which  have  been  given 
to  many  others  of  the  humbler  submarine  animals,  but  chiefly  to 
the  polyps  and  acalephas,  and,  like  the  stings  of  the  nettle  or 
the  poison-fangs  of  the  viper,  not  only  wound  but  paralyse 
resistance  by  a  venomous  secretion. 

These  urticating  organs,  which  are  disseminated  in  multitudes 
over  the  tips  of  the  tentacles,  are  composed  of  a  delicate  mem- 
branous sac  (a),  enclosing  a 
much  thicker  one  (b),  which 
is  open  at  one  extremity,  the 
aperture  being  stopped  by  the 
end  of  a  more  or  less  irregular 
short  stiff  sheath  (c)  some- 
times giving  attachment  to 
several  distinct  rays  or  spines 
(cT)  applied  together,  which  is 
fixed  to  the  edges  of  the  aper- 
ture, and  occupies  the  axis  of 
the  inner  sac.  To  the  ex- 
tremity of  this  sheath  a  long 
frequently  toothed  filament  (e) 
is  attached,  and  lies  coiled  up 
round  the  central  sheath,  and 
in  close  contact  with  the  walls 

of  the  sac.  The  latter  are  very  elastic,  and  seem  to  be  tensely 
stretched  by  the  conta'ned  fluid  during  life,  for  on  pressure  the 
sac  suddenly  bursts,  and  its  contents  are  evacuated  so  rapidly  as 
hardly  to  allow  of  the  process  being  traced.  The  violent  protu- 
sion  of  the  serrated  filament,  accompanied  by  an  acrid  secretion, 
causes  many  a  worm  or  crustacean  of  equal  or  superior  strength, 
that  might  have  gone  forth  as  victor  from  the  struggle  for  life, 
to  succumb  to  the  insidious  Actinia,  and  is  even  in  many  cases 
exceedingly  irritating  to  the  human  skin.  Besides  enabling 
its  possessor  to  derive  his  subsistence  from  animals  whose 
activity,  as  compared  with  his  own,  might  be  supposed  to  have 
removed  them  altogether  out  of  the  reach  of  danger,  these  stings 


VITALITY    OF   THE    SEA-ANEMONE.  119 

serve  also  as  admirable  weapons  of  defence,  and  many  a  rapacious 
Eolide  that  would  willingly  have  feasted  upon  a  Sea-anemone  is 
repelled  by  the  acrid  properties  of  its  urticating  tentacles. 

But  even  when  in  the  power  of  an  enemy,  who  does  not 
fear  the  poison  of  its  sting,  the  Sea-anemone  frequently  owes 
its  preservation  to  its  uncommon  tenacity  of  life.  Dip  it  into 
water  warm  enough  to  raise  blisters  on  the  skin,  or  expose  it 
to  the  frost  of  winter,  or  place  it  under  the  exhausted  bell  of 
an  air-pump,  and  its  powerful  vital  principle  will  triumph  over 
all  these  ordeals.  Cut  off  the  tentacles,  and  new  ones  sprout 
forth ;  nay,  divide  the  animal  in  two,  and,  like  the  Lernsean 
hydra,  it  will  produce  a  reduplication  of  itself.  Possessing  such 
wonderful  powers  of  reproduction,  the  Sea-anemone  may  thus 
be  cruelly  maimed  or  torn  by  tooth  or  claw,  and  yet  repair  its 
losses  and  survive. 

When  desirous  to  wander,  the  Sea-anemones  have  several  modes 
of  locomotion.  Relaxing  the  tenacious  grasp  of  their  muscular 
stalk,  they  glide  slowly  along ;  or,  turning  themselves  upside 
down,  they  make  use  of  their  tentacles  as  feet ;  or,  inflating  their 
body  with  water,  they  diminish  its  specific  weight,  and  allow 
themselves  to  be  drifted  along  by  the  current,  until,  tired  of 
exercise,  they  again  fix  themselves  to  some  convenient  spot. 

The  Actinias  can  neither  hear  nor  see,  for,  as  they  are  capable 
of  but  slow  progression,  the  possession  of  the  higher  senses 
would  have  been  of  no  use  to  avoid  pursuit,  or  to  capture  a  prey 
which  the  sea  brings  to  their  mouth  without  the  least  exertion  on 
their  part ;  it  would  have  been  a  torment,  not  a  gift.  The  sense 
of  touch,  which  is  principally  concentrated  in  their  tentacles,  is 
amply  sufficient  for  the  limited  sphere  of  their  existence;  and  thus 
the  organisation  of  the  Actinia  is  as  perfect  in  its  way  as  that 
of  any  of  the  higher  animals,  for  each  part  and  each  faculty  har- 
monises with  the  whole,  nor  can  we  doubt  that,  where  this  har- 
mony exists,  even  the  humblest  life  has  its  share  of  enjoyment. 

In  spite  of  their  numbers  and  their  wide  dispersion  over  the 
seas,  the  simple  or  solitary  Actinias  form  but  a  small  part  of 
the  world  of  polyps,  which  chiefly  consist  of  aggregated  or 
compound  animals,  attached  to  one  another  by  lateral  append- 
ages, or  by  their  posterior  extremity,  and  participatiDg  in  a 
common  life,  while  at  the  same  time  each  member  of  the  family 
enjoys  its  independent  and  individual  existence.  But  few  of 


ll'O 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


these  compound  polyps  are  at  liberty  to  swim  about  in  the  sea, 
as  for  instance  the  Pennatulae,  or  Sea  Pens ;  but  few,  like  the 

Alcyonians,  are  of  a  spongy 
or  cork-like  nature,  cover- 
ing submarine  bodies  with 
shapeless  masses.  The 
majority,  like  the  Ked 
Coral  of  the  Mediterranean, 
consist  of  a  living  and 
soft  rind,  enveloping  a 
solid  calcareous  axis,  or, 
like  the  reef-  building 
Lithophytes  of  the  tropical 
seas,  form  populous  colo- 
nies inhabiting  cells,  dis- 
tributed over  the  surface 
of  stony  polyparies. 

The  individual  animals 
of  these  social  republics  are 
far  inferior  in  size  to  the  Sea-anemone,  but  their  communities 


Peunatula  Grisea. 


Alcyonidium 

(a)  Branch  to  which  the  polypary  is  fixed  ;  (6)  foot ;    c  trunk  ;  (d)  polype  bearing  branches ; 
(e)  polyps  contracted  within  the  foot. 

frequently  occupy  a  much  larger  space,  so  as  to  attain  a  diameter 
or  height  of  many  feet.      Like  the  plants  which  they  frequently 


THE    PENNATUL.E. 


121 


resemble  in  outward  appearance,  these  stone-corals  grow  by 
germination,  so  that  each  polypary  consists  of  a  series  of  gene- 
rations, constantly  increasing  and  multiplying  without  ever 
separating  from  the  parent  stock.  A  necessary  consequence  of 
this  mode  of  propagation  is  the  intimate  union  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  these  vast  communities.  Each  polyp  has  its 


own 


Red  Coral  (Gorgonia  Nobilis).    A  small  detached  portion  magnified. 

tentacles,  mouth,  and  stomach ;  each  is  capable  of  shrinking 
within  its  cell,  or  of  seizing  its  prey;  but  here  its  individuality 
ceases,  as  it  communicates  by  membranes  and  vessels  with  its 
neighbours,  and  the  juices  which  it  elaborates  are  -made  to  con- 
tribute to  the  nutrition  of  the  whole  community. 

Thus  we  see  in  these  humble  associations  the  realisation  of 
an  Utopian  republic,  in  which  all  the  citizens  have  their  equal 
share  of  the  common  property,  and  all  equally  labour  for  the 


122  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

welfare  of  the  state.  Linked  together  by  an  indissoluble  chain, 
five  millions  of  individuals  live  together  in  peace  and  harmony 
in  one  single  porite  of  ten  feet  diameter — a  condition  of  tran- 
quillity and  ease  which,  no  doubt,  would  soon  give  way  to  the 
utmost  anarchy  if  the  tiny  republicans  were  suddenly  endowed 
with  human  power  of  locomotion  and  human  passions. 

Only  the  outer  rind  or  superficial  structure  of  the  larger 
corals  is  alive,  for  as  the  progress  of  growth  piles  new  genera- 
tions and  new  layers  of  chalk  over  their  heads,  the  older  polyps, 
cut  off  from  the  sources  of  supply,  and  suffocated,  as  it  were,  by 
their  children,  inevitably  perish.  But  the  skeleton,  which  they 
secreted  during  life,  remains  as  an  indestructible  record  of  their 
existence,  for  while,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  bones  of  the  higher 
animals  vanish  after  a  few  years  from  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
leaving  no  trace  behind,  the  stone  polyp,  firmly  rooted  to  the 
spot  which  it  occupied  while  alive,  mocks  the  lapse  of  centuries, 
and  seems  to  bid  defiance  to  all  time.  The  coral-reefs  of  the 
primitive  world  form  a  conspicuous  portion  of  the  earth-rind, 
and  as  they  are  frequently  situated  in  the  depths  of  continents, 
or  beyond  the  limits  of  the  polar  circle,  lead  us  back  to  times 
when  the  tides  broke  against  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  or 
the  shores  of  Spitsbergen  were  washed  by  a  tepid  sea. 

The  most  ancient  monuments  erected  by  man  to  mark  his 
transient  passage  on  earth — the  pyramids  of  Egypt  or  the 
temples  of  Meroe — do  not  reach  perhaps  beyond  fifty  or  sixty 
centuries;  but  here  we  have  ramparts,  to  which  the  great  wall  of 
China  is  a  pigmy,  erected  at  periods  separated  from  the  present 
times  by  an  incalculable  series  of  ages. 

On  submarine  cliffs  in  the  warmer  seas,  where  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  water  never  sinks  below  60°  Fahr.,  the  reef-build- 
ing corals  rear  their  wonderful  palaces  of  stone.  The  depth  to 
which  they  can  live  does  not  exceed  twenty  or  thirty  fathoms  ; 
but  as  large  areas  of  the  sea-bottom  on  which  they  grow  are 
gradually  subsiding,  while  their  growth  is  at  the  same  time  con- 
stantly tending  upwards  to  the  level  of  the  lowest  ebb,  their 
structures  may  in  many  places  rise  from  vertical  depths  of 
many  hundred  feet.  The  coral-reefs  thus  raised  in  the  course 
of  ages  by  these  minute  and  individually  so  puny  architects 
are  frequently  of  truly  colossal  dimensions,  stretch  for  hundreds 
of  miles  along  the  coasts,  fringe  or  encircle  whole  islands  or 


CORAL-ISLANDS.  123 

groups  of  islands,  or  form  immense  rings  or  annular  break- 
waters round  an  interior  lake  originally  occupied  by  land,  which 
the  gradual  subsidence  of  the  bottom  has  long  since  whelmed 
under  the  waters. 

As  living  coral-reefs  do  not  grow  above  low-water  mark,  it 
may  well  be  asked  how  habitable  islands,  of  which  there  are  a 
large  number  dispersed  over  the  Pacific  and  Indian  seas,  can 
form  upon  their  crests.  The  breakers  are  here  the  agents  of 
construction.  They  rend  fragments  and  blocks  from  the  outer 
border  of  the  reef,  and  throw  them  upon  the  surface,  corals 
and  shells  being  pulverised  by  their  crushing  grinding  power, 
and  gradually  consolidated  into  a  compact  mass.  In  this 
manner  the  pile  rises  higher  and  higher,  till  at  last  even  the 
spring  tides  can  no  longer  wash  over  it  into  the  tranquillagoon 
on  the  border  of  which  the  fine  coral-sand  accumulates  undis- 
turbed. The  seeds  which  the  ocean-currents  carry  with  them 
from  distant  continents  find  here  a  congenial  soil,  and  begin  to 
deck  the  white  chalk  with  an  emerald  carpet.  Trees  drifting 
from  the  primeval  forest,  where  they  have  been  uprooted  by  the 
swelling  of  the  river  on  whose  banks  they  grew,  are  also  con- 
veyed by  the  same  agency  to  the  coral  shore,  and  bring  along 
with  them  small  animals — insects  or  lizards — as  its  first  in- 
habitants. 

Before  the  screw-pine  raises  its  streaming  tufts,  or  the  stately 
palm  waves  its  broad  feathery  fronds,  sea-birds  assemble  on 
this  new  resting-place,  and  land-birds,  driven  by  storms  from 
their  usual  haunts,  enjoy  the  shade  of  the  rising  shrubbery. 
At  last,  after  vegetation  has  completed  its  work,  man  appears 
on  the  scene,  and  calls  himself  the  sovereign  of  this  little 
world. 

Thus  these  wonderful  coral-islands,  with  their  plants  and 
animals,  are  the  product  of  numerous  agencies  acting  indepen- 
dently of  each  other,  and  yet  all  directed  to  one  common  end. 
The  peculiar  organisation  of  the  reef-building  polyps,  the  heav- 
ing force  of  the  breakers,  the  ocean-currents  conveying  seeds 
and  germs  from  vast  distances  over  the  surface  of  the  sea,  the 
peculiar  formation  of  the  fruits  of  the  cocoa  and  the  screw- 
pine,  which  enables  them  to  remain  steeped  for  a  long  time  in 
salt  water  and  to  perform  immense  sea  voyages  without  losing 
their  germinating  power, — all  were  necessarv  either  to  raise 


124  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

the  coral-islands  above  the  level  of  the  waters,  or  to  transform 
them  from  naked  cliffs  into  tropical  gardens.  Here  surely 
blind  chance  has  not  been  at  work,  but  the  ineffable  wisdom 
of  an  Almighty  Crod. 

If  these  gems  of  the  ocean  required  but  a  few  hours  for 
their  formation,  if  we  could  see  them  suddenly  emerge  from 
the  waves,  and  the  white  rocks  rapidly  cover  themselves  with 
verdure,  and  the  colonies  of  sea-birds  hasten  to  their  new 
homes,  and  man  erect  his  dwellings  on  these  magic  isles, — then 
indeed  our  astonishment  would  know  no  bounds,  and  we  should 
look  down  with  pity  upon  him  who  would  attribute  them  to  a  for- 
tuitous concurrence  of  physical  causes :  but  are  the  coral-islands 
less  wonderful,  or  do  they  less  clearly  proclaim  the  glory  of  their 
Maker,  because  centuries  on  centuries  were  necessary  to  raise 
and  to  adorn  them  ? 


125 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

ACALEPH^E   OR   JELLY-FISHES. 

Medusae  and  Khizostomata. — Their  Internal  Structure. — Their  Mode  of  Progression. 
— Alternation  of  Generations. — Ciliograde  Jelly-fishes. — Their  wonderful  Fish- 
ing Apparatus. — Diphyes. — Agalma. — Physalus. — Velella. — Importance  of  the 
Acalephse  in  the  Economy  of  the  Ocean. 

NOT  less  admirable  than  the  coral- myriads  which  pave  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  with  petrified  gardens  and  animated  flower- 
beds, are  the  soft  crystalline  hosts  of  the  AcalephaB  or  Jelly- 
fishes,  whose  incredible  numbers  excite  the  astonishment  of  the 
mariner  when  for  days  together  he  steers  through  their  in- 
numerable shoals.  The  variety  and  singularity  of  their  forms, 
the  brilliancy  of  colour  which  makes  many  of  them  true  gems 
of  the  ocean,  their  remarkable  structure  and  wonderful  trans- 
formations, all  contribute  to  delight  the  spectator,  and  to  raise 
the  interest  of  the  naturalist. 

When  walking  on  the  beach  we  chance  to  see  a  Jelly-fish 
abandoned  by  the  retreating  flood,  we  can  hardly  imagine 
how  this  disgusting  gelatinous  mass  can  ever  have  had  claims 
to  beauty ;  but  this  collapsed  and  formless  wreck  was  elegant 
and  handsome  while  it  moved  along  in  its  own  native  ele- 
ment, and  its  organisation  shows  no  less  the  wisdom  of  the 
Creator  than  the  more  complex  though  not  more  perfect  struc- 
ture of  the  higher  stages  of  animal  existence. 

A  soft  gelatinous  transparent  or  translucent  body,  without 
a  calcareous  skeleton  or  intestinal  duct,  and  whose  parts,  divi- 
sible by  four,  are  mostly  ranged  in  a  radiate  manner  round  a 
centre,  is  the  common  character  of  all  the  Acalepha?  ;  but  their 
chief  divisions  or  groups — bell-shaped,  ribbed,  or  tubular — show 
such  remarkable  differences  in  their  external  forms  and  inter- 
nal structures  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  comprise  them  in  one 


126 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


description.  The  Discophora  are  distinguished  by  a  watch-glass 
or  bell-shaped  body,  generally  pellucid,  from  the  lower  surface 
of  which  various  processes  and  filaments  depend  ;  but  there  are 
very  many  modifications  in  the  structure  of  the  various  species. 
The  Medusae,  for  instance,  are  provided  with  a  large  central 
mouth,  leading  directly  into  the  stomach,  and  surrounded 
by  four  brachial  appendages,  while  numerous  slender  fibres  or 
tentacula  hang  from  the  border  of  the  umbrella-shaped  disk. 

The  Khizostomata,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  no  tenta- 
cles round  the  margin  of  the 
disk,  but  are  furnished  with 
eight  arms  in  the  centre  pro- 
ceeding from  a  common  stalk, 
and  instead  of  a  central  oral 
opening,  we  find  here  each 
arm  traversed  by  channels 
(c),  leading  to  the  digestive 
cavity  (a),  and  dividing  into 
numerous  branches  with  nar- 
row openings  at  the  lower  ex- 
tremity (d).  Through  these 
minute  apertures  nourish- 
ment is  received,  which 

consequently  must  consist  of  very  small  animals  indeed. 
On  injecting  milk  into  the  oral  cavity  of  the  Discophora, 
vessels  symmetrically  arranged  in  a  radiate  manner,  and 
divisible  by  four,  become  apparent,  which,  proceeding  to 
the  margin  of  the  disk,  there  terminate  in  a  circular  vessel, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  a  respiratory  organ.  Small  reddish 
or  brownish  eyes  and  tiny  vesicles  containing  a  limpid  fluid 
and  chalky  otolithes  arranged  along  the  margin  of  the  disk,  com- 
municate the  impressions  of  light  and  sound,  and  the  sudden 
retraction  of  their  tentacles  when  seizing  their  prey  sufficiently 
proves  them  to  be  possessed  of  a  high  degree  of  sensitiveness. 

Thus  on  a  closer  examination  we  find  that  the  despised  sea- 
blubbers,  from  which  even  a  naturalist  like  Reaumur  turned 
with  contempt  as  from  mere  lumps  of  animated  jelly,  possess 
in  reality  a  highly  interesting  organisation,  and  our  admiration 
increases  when  we  find  that  creatures  endowed  with  con- 


Rhizostoma. 


FORMATION    OF    THE    MEDUS.E.  127 

siderable  powers  of  perception,  and  some  strength  and  agility, 
are  formed  but  of  a  few  delicate  tissues  filled  with  a  fluid  to 
all  appearance  not  very  different  from  sea  water,  and  shrink- 
ing to  a  mere  nothing  when  deprived  of  their  vital  power. 
Thus  of  a  Medusa  or  Rhizostoma  weighing  from  twenty  to 
thirty  pounds  but  few  traces  remain  after  death,  the  ground 
is  covered  with  a  light  varnish,  all  the  rest  has  been  absorbed 
by  the  thirsty  sands. 

The  motion  of  the  Discophora  is  performed  by  alternate  con- 
tractions and  expansions  of  the  umbrella,  repeated  at  regular 
intervals,  something  like  the  movement  of  the  lungs  in  respira- 
tion, each  contraction  forcibly  expelling  a  jet  of  water,  which, 
impinging  on  the  surrounding  fluid,  causes  a  reaction,  through 
which  the  animal  is  forced  forward  with  a  jerk  in  the  opposite 
direction.  By  contracting  the  whole  or  only  part  of  its  disk, 
the  Medusa  has  it  in  its  power  to  direct  its  movements,  and 
while  thus  swimming  along  with  the  convex  end  of  the  um- 
brella directed  forwards,  and  its  fimbriated  vessels  and  tentacula 
streaming  behind,  it  may  well  rank  among  the  most  elegant 
children  of  the  sea.  Nor  are  its  long  thread-like  tentacles  mere 
accessorial  ornaments  or  innocent  organs  of  touch,  for  they  are 
generally  armed  with  the  same  '  urticating  organs '  which  render 
the  Actinias  and  many  other  polyps  formidable  to  the  smaller 
sea- animals,  and  after  having  thus  paralysed  resistance,  are 
admirably  adapted  for  curling  round  their  prey,  and  conveying 
it  by  their  retraction  to  the  mouth. 

But  the  most  remarkable  passage  in  the  history  of  the  Disco- 
phora is  the  wonderful  alternation  of  their  generations.  The 
Medusa  first  gives  birth  to  a  multitude  of  minute  gelatinous 
bodies,  in  shape  not  unlike  the  eggs  of  a  sponge,  or  the  spores 
of  one  of  the  lower  algse,  and  like  them  furnished  with  a  mul- 
titude of  cilia,  which  by  their  motion  propel  the  little  body 
through  the  water.  When  emitted,  the  bud  is  of  an  oval  shape, 
broader  at  one  end ;  and  it  constantly  keeps  its  broader  end  in 
advance  when  moving.  Internally  it  presents  a  cavity,  so  that 
it  is  in  fact  a  little  bag  of  living  jelly  clothed  with  vibratile 
hairs.  After  a  while  the  bud  attaches  itself  by  its  larger  ex- 
tremity or  apparent  front  to  any  convenient  object,  such  as  a 
stone  or  the  stalk  of  a  sea-weed,  and  this  extremity  henceforth 
becomes  the  base  on  which  all  its  future  operations  are  con- 


128 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


ducted.  The  body  lengthens  and  becomes  wider  upwards, 
tentacles  form  round  the  mouth  (A)  and  then  new  buds  sprout 

forth  successively  (B),  which, 
finally  detaching  themselves 
from  the  parent  stock(c),  swim 
about  as  perfect  Medusae, 
whose  eggs  in  their  turn  are 
destined  to  perform  a  similar 
cycle  of  changes.  Many  ma- 
rine animals,  which,  before 
this  wonderful  alternation  of 
generations  became  known, 
were  reckoned  among  the 
polyps,  have  now  been  found 
out  to  be  mere  sessile  forms 
of  AcalephaB,  and  future  in- 
vestigations will  no  doubt 
considerably  add  to  their 
number,  and  point  out  the 
nearest  relationship  or  rather 
the  identity  of  many  species, 
still  supposed  to  belong  to 
distinct  orders  of  animated  beings. 

The  ribbed  orCiliograde  Jelly-fishes  are  distinguished  from  the 
Discophora  by  their  external  generally  globular  or  egg-shaped 
form,  and  by  their  internal  structure 
and  peculiar  mode  of  progression. 
While  the  Discophora  move  along  by 
propelling  a  jet  of  water  against  the 
surrounding  liquid,  locomotion  is  here 
produced  by  innumerable  flat  plates  or 
little  paddles,  attached  to  longitudi- 
nal equidistant  bands  or  ribs  which 
divide  the  crystalline  body  into  equal- 
ly large  segments  or  fields.  When 
the  animal  wishes  to  swim  backwards 
or  forwards,  it  sets  all  its  paddles  in 

motion,  and  glides  rapidly  and  gracefully  through  the  water 
by  their  united  power.  When  it  wishes  to  turn,  it  merely 
stops  the  movement  of  its  paddles  on  one  side.  When  these 


Medusa  Larvae. 


Cydippe. 


THE    ACALEPILE. 


129 


delicate  little  oars  are  in  activity,  their  crystalline  surfaces 
reflect  the  sunlight  in  brilliant  prismatic  colours,  or  flash  in 
the  darkness  with  a  beautiful  blue  light. 

The  fishing  apparatus  of  many  of  the  ciliograde  acalephse 
is  no  less  elegant  than  their  locomotive  organs.  It  consists  of 
two  exceedingly  slender  tentacles  emerging  from  the  under 
part  of  the  body,  which,  though  five  or  six  inches  long  when 
fully  extended,  are  capable  of  being  wholly  withdrawn  within 
the  body  of  the  creature,  where  they  are  lodged  in  tubular 
sheaths.  On  one  side  they  are  provided  at  regular  intervals 
with  shorter  and  much  thinner  filaments,  which  roll  together 
spirally  when  the  chief  tentacle  contracts,  and  expand  when 
it  is  stretched  forth.  Each  of  them  might  be  compared  to  an 
angle-rod,  as  it  is  armed  with  those  urticating  darts  that  prove 
so  formidable  to  many  of  the  lower  marine  animals.  In  those 
species  which  are  unprovided  with  tentacles,  such  as  the  beroe, 
a  widely-gaping  mouth  supplies  their  place. 

The  tubular  acalephae  differ  very  much  from  each  other  in 
form,  and  are  generally  so  strangely  constructed  that  descrip- 


Diphyes    Campaiiulifera. 


tion  is  as  inadequate  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  them,  as  painting 
is  to  do  justice  to  their  crystalline  transparency  and  beauty  of 
colour.  Thus  the  diphyaB  consist  of  two  tubular  pieces  fitting 
one  within  the  other,  and  the  stephanomia)  or  agalmas  of  a 


Agalma    Okenii. 

long  chain  of  cut  diamonds,  some  vesicular,  and  others  with 
numerous  appendages  and  tentacles.     At  the  least  shock  the 

K 


130 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


members  separate  and  float  about  on  the  surface,  when  in 
course  of  time  they  most  likely,  like  the  polype,  reproduce  a 
new  commonwealth. 

In  the  Physalus,  or  Portuguese  man-of-war,  the  organ  of 
locomotion  is  a  large  air-filled  vesicle  or  bladder,  which  for 
the  most  part  rises  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  displaying 
every  shade  of  purple  and  azure.  Numberless  short  sucking- 
tubes  and  long  tentacles  hang  in  beautifully  blue  and  violet 


Physalus  utriculus. 

coloured  locks  or  streamers  from  the  lower  surface  of  the  body. 
The  tentacles  can  at  pleasure  be  rolled  together  or  extended 
to  the  length  of  many  feet,  and  woe  to  the  unlucky  fish  or 
cephalopod  that  comes  within  their  reach,  for,  embracing  the 
doomed  creature  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  they  paralyse 
all  resistance  by  means  of  the  venomous  secretion  of  their  urti- 
cating  organs. 

In  the  Velella,  locomotion  is  effected  partly  by  the  move- 
ments of  the  numerous  tentacles  which  hang  down  from  the 
inferior  surface,  but  chiefly,  perhaps,,  by  the  action  of  the 


DISTRIBUTION    OF   THE   ACALEPELE. 


131 


wind  on  the  thin  transparent  crest,  which  rises  vertically  along 
the  back  and  catches  the  moving  breeze.  The  disk  from  which 
the  tentacles  hang,  and  the 
crest,  are  supported  internally 
by  a  calcareous  plate  contain- 
ing numerous  cells  filled  with 
air,  which  renders  the  whole 
animal  so  buoyant  that  it 
floats  on  the  surface  of  the 
water  and  is  wafted  along  by 
the  winds. 

The  importance  of  the  acale- 
phse  in  the  economy  of  the  ocean 
corresponds  with  their  vast 
numbers  and  their  wide  geogra- 
phical range  ;  for  though  many 
are  confined  to  the  waters  of 
the  torrid  zone,  yet  even  the  seas  of  Spitzbergen  have  been  found 
scintillating  with  vast  shoals  of  the  cydippe.  They  supply  in  a 
great  measure  the  food  of  the  whale,  and,  converted  into  blub- 
ber, attract  the  bold  mariner  to  the  Arctic  seas ;  innumerable 
molluscs  and  crustaceans  prey  upon  their  inexhaustible  legions, 
and  are  in  their  turn  devoured  by  the  herrings,  whose  capture 
is  a  source  of  abundance  to  whole  nations  of  fishermen.  Who 
can  count  the  millions  which  every  moment  destroys,  and  who 
can  think  without  admiration  of  those  prodigal  sources  of  life 
which  constantly  fill  up  the  void,  and  maintain  their  hosts 
from  age  to  age  ? 


Velella  Septen.trion.alis. 


K  2 


13-2  .     THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


CHAPTEK    XVIII. 

ECHINODERMATA. 

Primeval  Sea-stars. —  Feather-stars.— Snake-stars. — Star-fishes. — Their  Suckers 
and  Mode  of  Locomotion. — Their  Skeleton. — Their  Victims  and  their  Enemies. — 
Sea-Urchins. — Structure  of  their  Shell. — Their  Dental  Apparatus. — Pedicellarise, 
or  Sea-Cucumbers. — Metamorphoses  of  the  Echinodermata. 

AT  that  far-distant  period  of  the  earth's  history  when  the 
swampy  lowlands  were  covered  with  those  thickets  of  calamites 
and  stigmarias  whose  remains  have  given  birth  to  the  coal  strata 
of  the  present  day,  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  was  paved  in  many 
places  with  crinoid  star-fishes,  whose  bodies,  branching  out  into 
delicately  feathered  bifurcated  arms,  were  affixed  like  flowers 
to  a  slender  articulated  stalk. 

Their  petrified  skeletons,  imbedded  in  countless  numbers  in 
many  of  the  calcareous  strata  of  our  island,  bear  witness  to  their 
ancient  importance ;  but  the  beautiful  and  antique  race  of  these 
Lily  Encrinites  and  Pentacrinites  is  now  reduced  to  but  one 
single  representative  in  the  British  seas — the  rosy  feather-star, 
whose  long  and  delicately  fringed  ray,  and  deep  rose  colour 
dotted  with  brown,  may  serve  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the  beauty 
of  the  submarine  landscapes  at  the  time  when  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  was  peopled  with  gigantic  specimens  of  the  same  class. 
Attached  in  its  infancy  to  a  stalk  like  its  mightier  predecessors, 
it  swims  freely  about  at  a  later  period,  by  alternately  contract- 
ing and  extending  its  closely-feathered  arms.  It  is  found  all 
round  our  coasts,  and  is  frequently  brought  up  in  from  ten  to 
twenty  fathoms  water,  attached  to  different  kinds  of  seaweed, 
which  it  lays  hold  of  by  means  of  the  claws  which  tip  the  fila- 
ments that  clothe  its  body. 

Thus  the  crinoid  star-fishes  have  mostly  disappeared,  but  the 
asteroidea,  forming  the  two  great  subdivisions  of  the  snake- 


THE    ASTEROJDE.E. 


133 


stars  and  star-fishes,  that  have  usurped  their  place,  abound  in 
the  modern  ocean,  and  frequently,  like  their  'predecessors  of 
old,  cover  the  bottom  of  the  sea  with  a  living  carpet. 

The  snake-stars  are  essentially  distinguished 
from  the  true  star-fishes  by  the  long  serpent 
or  worm-like  arms  which  are    appended    to 
their    round,    depressed,   urchin-like    bodies. 
They  have   no   true  suckers    with    which  to 
walk,  their  progression  being   effected    (and 
with  great  facility)  by  the    twisting  or  wrig- 
gling of  their   arms,  which  are,  moreover,  in 
many  species  furnished  with  spines  on  the  sides, 
assisting  locomotion  over  a  flat  surface.    These 
arms  are  very  different  from  those  of  the  true 
star-fishes,  as  they  are  not  lobes  of  the  body  as 
in  the  latter,  but  mere  processes  attached  or 
superadded  to  the  body.      In  the  sand-stars 
and   brittle-stars  they  are  simple ;  but  in  the 
Scotch  Argus    or  Warted  Euryale,   of  which 
the  adjoining  woodcut  represents  a  segment, 
each  of  the  five  rays  is  branched  again  and 
again,  so  that  the  whole  resembles  a  bunch  of 
serpents'  tails.     While  swimming,  this  strange  creature  spreads 
and  stretches  oat  all  its  branches  to  their  full  length,  but  when 
a  desirable  prey  comes   within   their 
reach,    it    suddenly    contracts     their 
Grorgon  coils   and   entraps  its   victim 
as  in  the  meshes  of  a  net.      "As  the 
expanded  Argus  measures  about  a  foot 
in  diameter,  it  may  well  be  supposed 
that  it  is  no  contemptible  enemy  for 
the  small  fishes  it   may  meet  with  on 
its  way. 

The  brittleness  of  the  snake-stars  is 
highly  remarkable,  for  at  the  slightest 
touch  they  separate  themselves  into 
pieces  with  wonderful  quickness  and 

Warted  Euryale. 

ease.    Touch  the  common  brittle-star, 

and  it  flings  away  an   arm ;  hold  it,  and  in  a  moment  not  a 

process  remains  attached  to  the  body.     '  The   common   brittle 


Sand-star. 


134 


THE    HAEMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


star,'  says  Edward  Forbes,  (  often  congregates  in  great  numbers 
on  the  edges  of  scallop  banks,  and  I  have  seen  a  large  dredge 
come  up  completely  filled  with  them  ;  a  most  curious  sight,  for 
when  the  dredge  was  emptied,  these  little  creatures,  writhing 
with  the  strangest  contortions,  crept  about  in  all  directions, 
often  flinging  their  arms  in  broken  pieces  around  them  ;  and 
their  snake-like  and  threatening  attitudes  were  by  no  means 
relished  by  the  boatmen,  who  anxiously  asked  permission  to 
shovel  them  overboard,  superstitiously  remarking  that  "the 
things  wern't  altogether  right."'  There  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
thanks  to  this  facility  of  dismemberment,  the  brittle-stars  disap- 
point many  a  hungry  foe  of  at  least  part  of  his  meal,  and  wriggle 
out  of  his  reach  while  he  feasts  on  one  of  their  cast-off  arms. 

The  locomotive  appara- 
tus of  the  true  star-fishes 
is  of  a  much  more  compli- 
cated structure  than  that 
of  the  snake-star;  for  as 
they  are  born  not  to  swim, 
but  slowly  to  creep  along 
upon  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 
the  grooved  under-surface 
of  their  arms  is  provided 
with  two  or  four  rows  of 
small  worm-like  suckers, 
which,  alternately  extend- 
ing and  contracting,  serve 
to  drag  the  body  after 
them.  The  strength  and 
activity  of  these  little  or- 
gans afford  an  entertain- 
ing spectacle  when  a  star- 
fish is  placed  on  its  back 
in  a  plate  filled  with  sea- 
water.  At  first  the  crea- 
ture  remains  motionless  ; 

fo^  offended  by  the  rough 

treatment  it  has  undergone,  the  feet  have  all  shrunk  into 
the  body,  leaving  nothing  visible  but  a  series  of  minute  tuber- 
cles, but  soon  they  are  seen  to  emerge  like  so  many  little  worms 


Tnferior  view  of  Astenas  Rubens, 

At  A  part  of  the  feet  is  removed.    «  mouth,   c  spines. 


ORGANISM   OF   THE   STAR-FISH.  135 

from  their  hole,  and  to  grope  backwards  and  forwards  through  the 
water,  evidently  seeking  the  nearest  ground  to  lay  hold  of.  Those 
that  reach  it  first,  immediately  affix  their  suckers,  and,  by  con- 
tracting, draw  a  portion  of  their  body  after  them,  so  as  to  enable 
others  to  attach  themselves,  until,  pulley  being  added  to 
pulley,  their  united  power  is  sufficient  to  restore  the  star-fish  to 
its  natural  position. 

This  act  of  volition  is  surely  remarkable  enough  in  an  animal 
which  hardly  possesses  the  rudiments  of  a  nervous  system,  but 
the  simple  mechanism  by  which  the  suckers  are  put  into  motion 
is  still  more  wonderful.  Each  of  these  little  organs  is  tubular, 
and  connected  with  a  globular  vesicle  filled  with  an -aqueous 
fluid,  and  contained  within  the  body  of  the  star-fish,  immedi- 
ately beneath  the  hole  from  which  the  sucker  issues.  When 
the  animal  wishes  to  protrude  its  feet,  each  vesicle  forcibly  con- 
tracts, and  propelling  the  fluid  into  the  corresponding  sucker, 
causes  its  extension ;  and  when  it  desires  to  withdraw"  them,  a 
contraction  of  the  suckers  draws  back  the  fluid  into  the  expand- 
ing vesicles.  All  these  little  bladder-like  cavities  are  connected 


Section  of  a  ray  of  Asterias  Rubens, 

Showing  the  arrangement  of  the  calcareous  pieces,    a  oblong  calcareous  plates  united  in  the 
median  line,    b  smaller  lateral  plates. 

with  vessels,  which  communicate  with  a  vascular  circle  surround- 
ing the  mouth ;  while  the  internal  walls,  both  of  the  suckers 
and  the  system  of  communicating  vessels,  are  furnished  with 
vibratory  cilia,  through  whose  agency  a  continual  circulation  of 
the  fluid  they  contain  goes  on  within  them,  and  serves  to  aerate 
the  blood. 

Not  only  the  suckers,  but  also  the  rays  from  which  they  pro- 
ceed, are  extremely  flexible  in  every  direction,  for  the  skeleton 
of  a  star-fish,  or  that  part  which  remains  when  all  the  soft  flesh 
has  been  removed,  is  a  wonderfully  beautiful  structure,  consist- 


136  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

ing  of  hundreds  of  nicely-fitted  calcareous  pieces  arranged  in  a 
regular  pattern,  perfectly  symmetrical  in  all  its  parts ;  so  that 
the  supple  animal  finds  no  difficulty  in  making  its  way  through 
the  crevices  of  a  rocky  shore,  or  in  traversing  the  intricate  tangles 
in  search  of  prey.  The  march  of  the  sea-star  is  indeed  but  slow, 
and  hosts  of  little  marine  animals  on  which  he  would  willingly 
feed,  no  doubt  escape  his  voracity,  as  they  have  been  gifted  with 
a  greater  agility ;  yet  his  table  is  richly  furnished,  for  there  are 
hosts  of  molluscs  that  are  not  only  more  tardy  than  himself,  but 
even  firmly  rooted  to  the  ground,  and  have  nothing  to  oppose 
to  his  attacks  but  the  passive  resistance  of  their  closed  valves. 

This  defence,  however,  is  frequently  of  no  avail,  for  star-fishes 
are  not  unfrequently  found  feeding,  on  shell-fish,  enfolding  their 
prey  within  their  arms,  and  seeming  to  suck  it  out  of  its  shell 
with  their  mouths,  pouting  out  the  lobes  of  the  stomach,  which 
they  are  able  to  project  in  the  manner  of  a  proboscis.  Possibly 
the  stomach  secretes  an  acrid  and  poisonous  fluid,  which,  by 
paralysing  the  shell-fish,  opens  the  way  to  its  soft  and  fleshy 
parts.  Thus  the  star-fish  is  a  sworn  enemy  to  oyster  banks,  and 
consequently  also  an  indirect  enemy  to  man  ;  but  fortunately  he 
himself  is  an  object  of  pursuit  to  greedy  crabs,  cephalopods, 
and  fishes,  who,  however,  are  frequently  at  some  pains  to  catch 
him ;  for  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  detach  him  from  the  rock 
to  which  he  clings,  and  the  spines  which  frequently  cover  his 
coriaceous  back  are  likewise  no  despicable  means  of  passive 
defence. 

The  sea-star  might  be  called  a  flattened  sea-urchin  with 
radiated  lobe,  and  the  sea-urchin  a  contracted  or  condensed  sea- 
star,  so  near  is  their  relationship.  Still  there  are  notable  dif- 
ferences between  them.  Thus,  in  the  sea-urchins,  the  digestive 
organs  form  a  tube  with  two  openings,  while  in  the  sea-stars 
they  have  but  one  single  orifice.  The  mouth  of  the  latter, 
which  may  be  so  dilated  as  to  admit  large  mollusca  in  their 
entire  shell,  has  only  toothed  processes  projecting  into  its  cavity, 
but  that  of  the  sea-urchin  is  a  masterpiece  of  mechanical  con- 
trivance. Fancy  five  triangular  bones  or  jaws,  each  provided 
with  a  long  projecting  moveable  tooth.  A  complicated  muscu- 
lar system  sets  the  whole  machinery  going,  and  enables  the  jaws 
to  play  up  and  down,  and  across ;  so  that  a  more  effective  mill 
for  grinding  down  the  food  cannot  well  be  conceived. 


THE    SEA-URCH1X.  137 

The  calcareous  shell  of  the  sea-urchin  seems  at  first  sight  to 
be  composed  of  one  simple  crust,  but  proves  on  nearer  inspec- 
tion to  be  a  beautiful  piece  of  mosaic,  consisting  of  several 
hundred  parts,  mostly  five-sided,  transversely  oblong,  and  dis- 
posed in  twenty  vertical  rays  or  columns.  Ten  of  these  are 
narrower,  and  consist  of  smaller  pieces,  which  are  perforated 
with  holes  for  the  feet  or  suckers ;  they  are  thence  termed  ani- 
bulacral :  the  other  ten  are  broader,  and  consist  of  larger  pieces. 
The  ten  ambulacral  columns  are  disposed  in  five  pairs,  with 
which  the  ten  larger  columns,  also  disposed  in  pairs,  alternate. 
The  number  of  plates  in  a  row  varies  with  the  age  of  the  ani- 
mal, increasing  as  it  grows  older  and  larger.  They  are  marked 


Shell  of  Echinus,  or  Sea-Urchin. 

on  the  outside  with  tubercles  or  knobs  of  various  sizes,  which 
support  the  spines.  The  spines  themselves  have  a  cup-like 
cavity  at  their  base,  which  is  connected  with,  and  moves  on,  the 
prominent  tubercle.  The  pieces  of  which  the  shell  is  composed 
are  so  closely  united  that  their  junctions  are  hardly  visible,  but 
on  allowing  the  shell  to  macerate  for  some  days  in  fresh  water, 
it  falls  to  pieces.  This  complicated  structure  is  by  no  means  a 
mere  architectural  luxury,  a  useless  exuberance  of  ornament, 
but  essentially  necessary  to  the  requirements  of  the  animal's 
growth.  A  simple  hard  crust  would  not  have  been  capable  of 
distension,  whereas  a  complicated  shell,  such  as  the  sea-urchin 
possesses,  can  grow  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  internal  parts,  by 
continual  deposits  on  the  edges  of  the  individual  pieces.  On 
closely  examining  a  living  sea-urchin,  we  find  the  whole  surface 


138  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

of  the  shell  and  spines  covered  with  a  delicate  skin,  which,  in 
spite  of  their  close  connexion,  penetrates  into  the  intervals  of 
the  several  pieces.  This  membrane  secretes  the  chalk  of  which 
the  shell  is  composed,  and  deposits  fresh  layers  on  the  edges  of 
the  plates,  so  that  in  this  manner  the  shell  continually  widens 
until  the  animal  has  attained  its  perfect  size.  The  spines  are 
secreted  in  the  same  manner  by  the  soft  integument  which 
effects  their  union  with  the  shell  at  the  circumference  of  their 
articulation,  and  exhibit  under  the  microscope  an  admirable 
beauty  and  regularity  of  structure.  So  bountifully  has  the 
Great  Architect  of  worlds  provided  for  the  poor  insignificant 
sea-urchin ! 

Besides  the  spines  there  exist  on  his  external  surface  multitudes 
of  exceedingly  minute  and*  beautifully  formed  pincers,  which  as 
long  as  the  animal  lives  are  in  perpetual  motion,  bending  about 
from  side  to  side,  and  opening  and  shutting  their  three-forked 
apex  continually.  These  most  singular  organs,  which  are  also 
found  on  IT,  any  of  the  star-fishes,  (where, 
however,  they  are  simply  forked  like 
the  claws  of  a  crab  in  miniature,)  are 
called  by  naturalists  pedicellariae,  and 
were  formerly  regarded  as  parasitic 
creatures;  but  from  the  accurate  ob- 
servations  of  Mr.  Grosse,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that,  though  their  uses  are  still  wholly  unknown, 
they  are  truly  and  essentially  organic  parts  of  the  animal.  Both 
the  suckers  and  the  spines  serve  the  sea-urchin  as  organs  of 
locomotion.  With  the  former  he  firmly  moors  himself  to  the 
ground,  and  with  the  latter  some  species  are  able  even  to  en- 
tomb themselves,  pholas-like,  in  stone.  Thus  the  Echinus 
lividus  inhabits  circular  cavities  evidently  formed  by  himself, 
and  so  deep  as  to  embrace  two-thirds  of  his  bulk.  The  burrow 
is  large  enough  to  admit  of  the  creature  rising  a  little,  but 
not  of  its  coming  out  easily.  The  echinus  adheres  so  firmly 
to  this  cavity  by  his  suckers,  as  to  be  forced  from  it  with  extreme 
difficulty  when  alive.  On  the  coasts  of  the  county  of  Clare  thou- 
sands may  be  seen  lodged  in  the  rock,  their  purple  spines  and 
regular  forms  presenting  a  most  beautiful  appearance  on  the 
bottoms  of  the  grey  limestone  rock  pools.  How  the  boring  is 
performed  has,  like  many  other  secrets  of  creation,  not  yet  been 


SEA-CUCUMBEKS.  139 

settled  by  naturalists.  The  first  perforation  is  most  likely 
effected  by  means  of  the  teeth,  and  then  the  rock  softened  by 
some  secreted  solvent. 

On  our  coasts  the  common  egg-urchin  affords  the  poor  a  some- 
what scanty  repast,  and  throughout  the  Mediterranean  its  greater 
size,  and  also  that  of  its  allies  (Echinus  melo,  sardicus),  render 
them,  when  'in  egg,'  conspicuous  objects  in  the  fish  markets; 
but  as  articles  of  food  and  trade  they  are  far  surpassed  by  the 
holothurise,  or  sea-cucumbers,  which  are  caught  by  millions, 
and  give  employment  to  thousands  of  fishermen  on  the  Indian 
Ocean,  or  among  the  isle-clusters  of  the  Pacific.  These  animals 
may  be  regarded,  in  one  light,  as  soft  sea-urchins ;  and,  in  an- 
other, as  approximating  to  the  annelides  or  worms.  Their 
suckers  are  similar  to  those  of  the  true  star-fishes  and  sea- 
urchins.  Besides  progression  by  means  of  these  organs,  they 
move  like  annelides,  by  the  extension  and  contraction  of  their 
bodies.  The  mouth  is  surrounded  by  plumose  tentacula,  the 
number  of  which  is  always  a  multiple  of  five.  They  all  have 
the  power  of  changing  their  shapes  in  the  strangest  manner, 
sometimes  elongating  themselves  like  worms,  sometimes  con- 
tracting the  middle  of  their  bodies  so  as  to  give  themselves  the 
shape  of  an  hour-glass ;  and  then  again  puffing  themselves  up 
with  water  so  as  to  be  perfectly  globular.  Under  the  influence 
of  terror  they  dismember  themselves  in  the  strangest  manner. 
Having  no  legs  or  arms  to  throw  off,  like  their  relations  the 
brittle-stars,  they  simply  disgorge  their  viscera  and  manage  to 
live  without  a  stomach,  no  doubt  a  much  greater  feat  than  if  they 
contrived  to  live  without  a  head.  The  loss  is,  however,  made  up 
in  course  of  time  by  a  wonderful  power  of  regeneration,  even  if 
the  process  of  disgorgement  was  so  complete  as  to  leave  but  an 
empty  sack  behind. 

Nothing  can  be  more  curious  than  the  developmental  history 
of  the  echinoderms,  for  here  the  embryonic  mass  is  converted,  not 
into  a  larva,  which  subsequently  attains  the  adult  form  by  a 
series  of  metamorphoses,  but  into  a  peculiar  zooid9  which  seems 
to  exist  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  give  origin  to  the 
echinoderm  by  a  kind  of  internal  germination,  and  to  carry  it 
to  a  distance  by  its  active  locomotive  powers  so  as  to  prevent 
the  spots  inhabited  by  the  respective  species  from  being  over- 
crowded by  the  accumulation  of  their  progeny. 


140  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

The  larval  zooids  are  formed  upon  a  type  quite  different  from 
that  which  characterises  the  adults,  for  instead  of  a  radial 
symmetry  they  exhibit  a  bilateral,  the  two  sides  being  precisely 
alike,  and  each  having  a  ciliated  fringe  along  the  greater  part  or 
the  whole  of  its  length.  Such  are  the  changes  they  undergo  in 
the  progress  of  their  growth,  that  in  the  fully  developed  star-fish 
and  sea-urchin  the  only  part  retained  is  a  portion  of  the  stomach 
and  intestine,  which  is  pinched  off,  so  to  speak,  from  that  of  the 
larval  zooid  by  the  animal's  forcible  contractions. 

Many  of  the  details  of  this  wonderful  history  are  still  unknown, 
and  undoubtedly  belong  to  the  most  interesting  secrets  of  the 
life  of  the  seas. 


141 


CHAPTEK   XIX. 

MOLLUSC  A. 

The  Flustra  or  Sea-mats. — Avicularia. — Metamorphoses  of  the  Flustra. — Salpae 
and  Ascidise. — Botrylli. — Pyrosomata. — Bivalve  Shell-fish. — Free  and  Sessile. 
— The  Byssus. — The  File  of  the  Pholades. — Eespiration  of  the  Bivalve  Shell- 
Fish. — Their  Nourishment, — Snails. — Their  Masticatory  Apparatus. — Their 
Cautious  Habits. — Pteropods. — Conical  Appendages  of  the  Clio's  Head. — Its 
wonderful  Dental  Apparatus. — Cuttle-Fish. — Sucking-Disks. — The  Onychoteu- 
this. — Number  and  Importance  of  the  Molluscs. 

THE  naked  slug  lazily  crawling  in  damp  weather  over  our 
garden  and  forest-paths,  the  oyster  firmly  attached  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  the  many-armed  cuttle-fish  rapidly  darting 
through  the  waters,  and  the  ponderous  whelk  slowly  dragging 
along  its  heavy  shell  in  the  deeper  waters  beyond  the  recess  of 
the  tide,  are  no  doubt  very  dissimilar  in  their  outward  form  and 
in  their  mode  of  life;  but  on  examining  their  internal  structure 
a  close  relationship  becomes  apparent,  and  thus  they  are  all 
comprised  by  naturalists  under  the  vast  class  of  the  molluscs 
which  spreads  in  countless  legions  over  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
but  chiefly  inhabits  the  seas ;  as  of  the  living  species,  whose 
number  is  estimated  at  16,732,  more  than  10,000  are  denizens 
of  the  ocean. 

The  molluscs  are  distinguished  from  all  other  animals  by  the 
following  characters : — Their  bodies  are  soft,  but  almost  all  of 
them  have  a  peculiar  development  of  the  skin  which  covers 
their  body  like  a  mantle,  and  generally  secretes  a  hard,  inar- 
ticulated,  and  consequently  inflexible,  calcareous  or  horny  shell. 
Their  blood  is  white,  flows  from  the  heart  to  all  parts  of  the 
body,  and  finds  its  way  back  again  to  that  organ  after  hav- 
ing been  refreshed  either  in  lungs,  or,  more  frequently,  in  a 
branchial  apparatus.  Their  muscles  are  attached  to  various 
points  of  their  skin,  forming  more  or  less  dense  and  complex 


142 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


tissues.  The  vegetative  organs  are  very  much  developed,  and 
generally  disposed  in  a  curve,  so  that  the  mouth  is  proximate  to 
the  opposite  extremity  of  the  intestinal  canal.  From  the  crus- 
taceans and  insects  they  are  distinguished  by  the  absence 
of  jointed  feet,  from  the  fishes  by  the  absence  of  an  internal 
skeleton  and  spinal  marrow.  A  view  of  the  various  subdivi- 
sions of  this  great  class,  proceeding  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  types  of  mollusc  organisation,  will  show  us  that,  though 
generally  weak  and  inert,  they  are  all  most  admirably  fitted  out 
for  the  battle  of  life. 

While  wandering  on  the  beach  we  not  seldom  find,  among  the 
relics  of  the  retiring  flood,  pale-coloured  leaf- like  formations, 
of  a  papery  substance,  which  might  be 
mistaken  for  dried  sea-weeds,  blanched 
by  exposure  to  the  air.  But  a  narrower 
inspection  soon  shows  that  the  flustrae,  or 
sea-mats,  as  these  marineproductions  are 
called,  are  of  a  much  more  complicated 
structure  than  that  of  a  simple  alga, 
as  they  are  built  up  of  innumerable  little 
oblong  cells,  placed  back  to  back,  like 

those  of  a  honeycomb  ;  and  each  crowned  (as  may  readily  be 
seen  with  the  help  of  a  pocket  lens)  by  four  stout  spines. 

Before  the  stormy  tide  detached  these  foliaceous  formations 
from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  left  them  to  perish  on  the  shore, 
each  of  these  cells  contained  a  living  creature,  whose  mouth  was 
surrounded  with  a  coronet  of  filiform  and 
ciliated  tentacles,  destined  to  produce  a  vortex 
in  the  water,  and  thus  to  provide  their  tiny 
owner  with  its  food.  The  body  was  bent  on 
itself,  somewhat  like  the  letter  V;  the  one 
branch  (a)  being  the  mouth  and  throat,  the 
other  (b)  the  rectum  opening  by  an  anus, 
and  the  middle  part  (c)  the  stomach,  probably 
with  some  accessory  organ.  The  tenant  of 
each  cell,  though  enjoying  an  independent 
existence,  was  linked  at  the  same  time  by 
a  common  circulation  to  the  proprietors  of 
the  cells  above  and  below  him,  and  thus  the 
whole  formed  a  community  of  perhaps  forty  or  fifty  thousand 


Leaf-like  Sea  Mat. 


Flustra    in  its  cell. 
Highly  magnified. 


THE    POLYZCLE.  143 

individuals,  similar  to  the  social  republics  of  the  polyps. 
But  in  spite  of  this  apparent  resemblance,  the  flustrse  have  a 
far  more  developed  organisation ;  for  besides  the  rudiments  of 
a  nervous  system,  which  directs  the  independent  movements  of 
each  individual,  and  establishes  by  connecting  filaments  the 
unity  of  the  colony,  they  possess  a  very  complicated  muscular 
apparatus,  a  complete  digestive  canal,  and  when  they  draw  back 
their  tentacles,  they  are  able  to  close  their  little  cells 
a  kind  of  moveable  lid,  which  no  doubt  affords  them,  security 
against  a  host  of  microscopical  foes.  When  fresh,  the  whole 
structure  exhales  an  agreeable  acid  odour,  somewhat  like  that 
of  the  lemon-scented  verbena  or  geranium,  but  less  pure. 

Besides  the  flustra?,  the  sea  contains  a  great  variety  of  allied 
genera,  some  erected  like  them  on  short  stalks  (cellulariaB),  while 
others  spread  in  concentric  layers  over  sea-weeds  or  shells  (lepra- 
Iia3),  and  though  appearing  to  the  naked  eye  as  rude  and 
unsightly  scurfs,  exhibit,  when  magnified,  a  wonderful  diversity 
and  elegance  of  form.  Other  genera  are  tubular  (tubuliporas), 
others  spongy  (cellepora?).  Generally  the  cellular  extension  is 
unbroken,  but  sometimes  (reteporaB)  the  leaf-like  expansion  is 
pierced  like  net-work.  Such  is  the  exuberance  of  fancy  dis- 
played in  the  formation  of  the  group  of  the  polyzoa,  as  this 
humblest  subdivision  of  the  great  series  of  molluscous  animals 
has  been  named. 

But  a  closer  inspection  reveals  still  greater  wonders  to  the 
marine  microscopist,  for  most  of  the  polyzoa,  and  particularly 
the  cellularise,  possess  very  remarkable  appendages  or  processes, 
presenting  the  most  striking  resemblance  to  the  head  of  a  bird. 
Each  of  these  processes  or  <avicularia3  '  has  two  (  mandibles,'  of 
which  one  is  fixed  like  the  upper  jaw  of  a  bird,  the  other  move- 
able  like  its  lower  jaw ;  the  latter  is  opened  and  closed  by  two 
?.ets  of  muscles,  which  are  seen  in  the  interior  of  the  head,  and 
between  them  is  a  peculiar  body,  furnished  with  a  pencil  of 
bristles  which  is  probably  a  tactile  organ,  being  brought  forwards 
when  the  mouth  is  open,  so  that  the  bristles  project  beyond 
it,  and  being  drawn  back  when  the  mandible  closes.  During 
the  life  of  the  polyzoon,  these  tiny  ( vulture-heads,'  which  are 
either  sessile  or  pedunculated,  keep  up  a  continual  movement ; 
and  it  is  most  amusing  to  see  them  see-sawing,  and  snapping 
and  opening  their  jaws,  and  then  sometimes  in  their  incessant 


144 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATUKE. 


activity  even  closing  upon  the  beaks  of  their  neighbours.  No 
one  has  yet  divined  the  economy  of  these  most  singular  organs, 
but  as  several  observers  have  noticed  the  seizure  of  small 
roving  animals  by  their  pincer-like  beaks,  the  conclusion  is 
pretty  general  that  they  are  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
procuring  of  food. 

But  it  seems  to  have  been  forgotten,  not  only  that  the  '  avi- 
culariae '  have  no  power  of  passing  the  prey  thus  seized  to  the 


A  Portion  of  a  Cellularia  magnified.    B  A  bird's-head  process,  more  highly  magnified  and  seen  in 
the  act  of  grasping  another. 

mouth,  but  also  that  the  mouth  is  situated  at  the  bottom  of  a 
funnel  of  ciliated  tentacles,  and  is  calculated  to  receive  only 
such  minute  prey  as  is  drawn  within  the  ciliary  vortex.  Thus 
they  cannot  possibly  serve  as  immediate  or  direct  purveyors  of 
food  ;  but  Mr.  Grosse  explains  to  us,  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner, 
how  the  seizure  of  a  passing  animal,  and  the  holding  of  it  in 
their  tenacious  grasp  until  it  dies,  may  be  the  means  of  attract- 
ing the  proper  prey  to  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth. 

'The  presence  of  decomposing  animal  substance  in  water,' 
says  this  distinguished  naturalist,  f  invariably  attracts  crowds  of 
infusory  animalcules,  which  then  breed  with  amazing  rapidity 
so  as  to  form  a  cloud  of  living  atoms  around  the  decaying  body, 
quite  visible  in  the  aggregate  to  the  unassisted  eye ;  and  these 


THE   TUNICATED   MOLLUSCS. 


14-5 


remain  in  the  vicinity,  playing  round  and  round,  until  the  or- 
ganic matter  is  quite  consumed.  Now,  a  tiny  annelide  or  other 
animal,  caught  by  the  "  bird's-head  "  of  the  polyzoa,  and  tightly 
held,  would  presently  die ;  and  though,  in  its  own  substance,  it 
would  not  yield  any  nutriment  to  the  capturer,  yet  by  becoming 
the  centre  of  a  crowd  of  busy  infusoria,  multitudes  of  which 
would  constantly  be  drawn  into  the  tentacular  vortex  and  swal- 
lowed, it  would  be  ancillary  to  its  support,  and  the  organ  in 
question  would  thus  play  no  unimportant  part  in  the  economy 
of  the  animal.' 

Besides  the  'avicularise,'  most  of  the  polyzoa  are  furnished 
with  'vibracula,'  long  bristle-shaped  organs,  each  one  springing 
at  its  base  out  of  a  sort  of  cup  that  contains  muscles  by  which 
it  is  kept  in  almost  constant  motion,  sweeping  slowly  and  care- 
fully over  the  surface  of  the  polyzoary,  and  removing  what 
might  be  injurious  to  the  delicate  inhabitants  of  the  cells  when 
their  tentacles  are  protruded.  So  carefully  have  all  the  wants 
of  these  humble  creatures  been  provided  for ! 

The  nearest  relations  of  the  polyzoa 
are  the  tunicated  mollusca,  so  called 
because  their  soft  parts  are  enclosed, 
not  in  a  shell,  like  the  majority  of 
the  class,  but  in  a  tough  leathery 
coat  or  tunic.  To  this  subdivision  be- 
long the  various  kinds  of  Ascidise,  both 
simple  and  compound,  the  Salpaa  and 
the  Pyrosomas.  The  simple  Ascidia?, 
or  sea-squirts,  are  sometimes  found  at- 
tached to  sea-weeds  and  stones  in  the 
littoral  zone,  while  others  are  fre- 
quently thrown  up  from  deeper  water 
on  the  beach.  Some  are  of  a  large  size, 
several  inches  in  length.  Their  outer 
form  is  that  of  a  bag  with  a  smooth  or 
variously  roughened  semi-transparent 
skin,  furnished  with  two  small  open- 
ings, from  which,  on  the  slightest  pres- 
sure, a  jet  of  water  is  sent  to  a  con- 
siderable distance.  These  creatures  lead  a  very  inactive  life. 
Adhering  by  their  base  to  rocks,  shells,  and  other  submarine 

L 


Ascidia  Mammillata . 

a  branchial  orifice,  open,    b  anal 

orifice,  closed. 


146 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


substances,  they  trust  for  nourishment  to  whatever  small  fry 
are  brought  to  their  mouths  by  currents  in  the  water.  They  have 

not  the  elegance  of  form  of  the  sea 
anemones,  but  many  are  painted 
with  the  most  gaudy  colours. 

s  If,  when  walking  on  the  sea- 
shore, about  low -water  mark,' 
says  Forbes  in  his  History  of 
British  Mollusca,  'we  turn  over 
large  stones,  or  look  under  pro- 
jecting eaves  of  rock,  we  are 
almost  sure  to  see  translucent 
jelly-like  masses  of  various  hues 
of  orange,  purple,  yellow,  blue, 
grey,  and  green,  sometimes  nearly 
uniform  in  tint,  sometimes  beau- 
tifully variegated,  and  very  fre- 

B  otryll  us  vioiaceus,highly  magnified.  J  »\  • 

a  common  test,    bb  some  of  the  bronchial    QUently  pencilled  as  if   with  stars 

orifices,     c  the  common  anal  orifice  of  one 

of  the  systems.  ot    gorgeous    device ;    now    en- 

crusting the  surface  of  the  rock,  now  descending  from  it 
in  icicle-like  projections.  These  are  compound  Ascidians.  A 
tangle  of  broad-leaved  fucus,  torn  from  its  rocky  bed  or  gathered 
on  the  sand,  where  the  waves  have  cast  it  after  storms,  will  show 
us  similar  bodies,  mostly  those  star-figured  (botrylli),  investing 
its  stalks,  winding  among  the  intricacies  of  its  roots,  or  clothing 
with  a  glairy  coat  the  expanse  of  its  foliated  extremities.  In 
examining  these  bodies,  we  find  that  it  is  not  a  single  animal 
which  lies  before  us,  but  a  commonwealth  of  beings,  bound  to- 
gether by  common  and  vital  ties.  Each  star  is  a  family,  each 
group  of  stars  a  community.  Individuals  are  linked  together  in 
systems,  systems  combined  into  masses.  Indeed,  few  bodies 
among  the  forms  of  animal  life  exhibit  such  exquisite  and 
kaleidoscopic  figures  as  those  which  we  see  displayed  in  the 
combinations  of  the  compound  Ascidians. 

Both  in  the  solitary  and  compound  Ascidians,  the  young 
animal,  when  it  first  issues  from  the  egg,  has  active  powers  of 
locomotion,  being  provided  with  a  large  tadpole-like  tail,  by 
the  aid  of  which  it  is  propelled  through  the  water.  Then  the 
tail  disappears,  and  grasping  fibres  or  roots  spring  from  the 
body,  which  gradually  assumes  the  form  and  adopts  the  quiet 


SALPJ3   AND    SALPA-CHAINS. 


147 


life  of  the  parent  from  which  it  sprung.  It  is  thus,  by  giving 
to  the  young  animal  a  locomotive  power  which  she  denies  to 
the  fully  grown,  that  nature,  in  these  and  many  other  of  the  sta- 
tionary marine  animals,  provides  for  the  proper  dispersion  of  the 
species.  Among  more  perfect  animals,  the  old  take  care  of  the 
young,  and  provide  for  them ;  here  we  find  the  young  possess 
instincts  and  organs  which  they  lose  at  an  advanced  period  of 
their  life,  when  they  would  be  no  longer  necessary,  thus  beauti- 
fully balancing  the  wants  and  the  means  of  satisfying  them. 

While  the  sessile  Ascidise  remind  one  of  the  polyps,  the 
transparent  Salpse,  freely  swimming  in  the  ocean,  bear  a  great 
resemblance  to  the  pellucid  jelly-fishes,  or  Medusae.  Each 


A.  Salpa  runcinata  solitary.  B.  S.  runcinata  associate^,  C.  S.  zonaria  aggregated. 

VD.  S.  maxima. 

a    posterior  orifice,    b  anterior  orifice,  c  abdomen,    d  branchial  lamina,    e  heart.    //  pro- 
longations of  the  test,  by  which  the  animal  is  adherent  to  its  neighbour. 

resembles  a  crystalline  tube,  through  which  one  can  distinctly 
see  the  internal  coloured  parts.  Sometimes  these  animals  are 
found  solitary,  at  other  times  associated  in  circular  or  length 
ened  groups,  termed  garlands,  ribands,  and  chains.  The  salpa- 
chains,  varying  in  length  from  a  few  inches  to  many  feet,  swim 
through  the  tranquil  water  with  a  regular  serpentine  move- 
ment, and  are  often  regarded  by  sailors  as  sea-serpents ;  but 
when  taken  from  the  water,  the  individuals  of  the  group  are 
easily  detached.  Thus,  in  consequence  of  accidents,  separate 
members  of  these  chains  are  often  met  with  in  seas  abounding 
with  these  molluscs ;  but  other  separate  salpse  are  also  met  with 
that  have  never  been  united  to  others,  and  differ  considerably 

L   2 


148  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

in  form  from  the  associated  ones.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  these 
solitary  salpao  are  the  young  of  salpse  that  have  been  chained, 
and  the  progeny  of  these  solitary  ones  will  be  chained  salpse  ; 
consequently,  as  Chamisso,  the  first  discoverer  of  this  remark- 
able alternation  of  generations,  graphically  observes,  'a  salpa 
mother  is  never  like  its  daughter  or  its  own  mother,  but 
resembles  its  sister,  its  grand-daughter,  and  its  grandmother.' 

The  tubular  body  of  the  salpae  is  open  at  both  ends,  the  pos- 
terior aperture  being  provided  with  a  more  or  less  perfect  val- 
vular apparatus,  which  can  be  opened  or  closed  at  pleasure. 
They  move  slowly  along  by  alternate  expansions  and  contractions, 
by  admitting  the  water  through  the  posterior  aperture,  and  ex- 
pelling it  through  the  opposite  orifice. 

The  Pyrosomes  consist,  like  the  compound  Ascidians,  of  large 
colonies  of  small  individuals  aggregated  in  the  form  of  a  cylin- 
der open  at  one  end.  Their  mouths  or  anterior  extremities  are 
situated  on  the  exterior  of  this  hollow  body,  which  they  bristle 
with  large  and  longish  tubercles,  whilst  the  opposite  or  anal 
orifices  open  into  the  cavity  of  the  cylinder,  whose  smooth  wall 
they  perforate  with  numerous  small  holes.  By  a  simultaneous 
action  the  central  cavity  is  either  narrowed  or  enlarged,  and  by 
this  means  the  strange  social  republic  glides  slowly  through  the 
waters.  They  inhabit  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  warmer 
parts  of  the  ocean.  In  the  former,  at  times,  their  abundance  is 
a  source  of  dread  to  the  fishermen,  sometimes  even  completely 
clogging  their  nets  ;  and  in  certain  oceanic  regions  they  are  met 
with  in  almost  incredible  profusion.  Their  delicate  and  trans- 
parent forms,  their  elegant  tints,  and  their  unrivalled  phosphor- 
escence render  them  the  most  beautiful  of  molluscs,  and  objects 
of  admiration  to  the  naturalist  and  the  voyager. 

Mr.  Bennett  relates  that,  during  a  voyage  to  India,  the  ship, 
proceeding  at  a  rapid  rate,  continued  during  an  entire  night  to 
pass  through  distinct  but  extensive  fields  of  these  molluscs, 
floating,  and  glowing  as  they  floated,  on  all  sides  of  her  course. 
Enveloped  in  a  flame  of  bright  phosphorescent  light,  and 
gleaming  with  a  greenish  lustre,  the  pyrosomes,  seen  at  night 
in  vast  shoals  upwards  of  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  stretching  out 
until  lost  in  the  distance,  present  a  spectacle  the  glory  of  which 
may  be  easily  imagined. 

( In  the  evening  of  the  13th  Frimaire,'  says  M.  Peron,  who 


THE    PYBOSOME8.  149 

first  discovered  and  established  the  genus,  '  we  experienced  one 
of  the  strongest  of  the  short-lived  storms  peculiar  to  the  region 
of  calms  in  the  Atlantic.  The  sky  was  on  all  sides  loaded  with 
heavy  clouds  ;  all  around  the  obscurity  was  profound  ;  the  wind 
blew  violently,  and  the  ship  cut  her  way  with  rapidity.  Suddenly 
we  discovered  at  some  distance  a  great  phosphorescent  band 
stretched  across  the  waves,  and  occupying  an  immense  tract  in 
advance  of  the  ship.  Heightened  by  the  surrounding  circum- 
stances, the  effect  of  this  spectacle  was  romantic,  imposing,  sub- 
lime; ri vetting  the  attention  of  all  on  board.  Soon  we  reached  the 
illuminated  tract,  and  perceived  that  the  prodigious  brightness 
was  certainly  and  only  attributable  to  the  presence  of  an  innumer- 
able multitude  of  largish  animals  floating  with  the  waves.  From 
their  swimming  at  different  depths,  they  took  apparently  different 
forms ;  those  at  the  greatest  depth  were  very  indefinite,  presenting 
much  the  appearance  of  great  masses  of  fire,  or  rather  of  enormous 
reddish  cannon-balls  ;  whilst  those  more  distinctly  seen  near  the 
surface  perfectly  resembled  incandescent  cylinders  of  iron.' 

The  Conchifera,  or  the  molluscs  contained  within  a  bivalve 
shell,  comprise  the  two  groups  or  orders  of  the  Brachiopoda  and 
the  lamellibranchiate  bivalves.  The  former,  which  are  chiefly 
fossil,  occur  only  in  a  few  genera  in  the  present  seas,  and  are 
characterised  by  the  two  long  fleshy  ciliated  and  spiral  arms 
which  they  use  for  opening  their  shell.  Their  mantle  is 
organised  so  as  to  be  serviceable  for  respiration,  and  the  numer- 
ous cilia  with  which  their  arms  are  covered  produce  the  cur- 
rents that  both  provide  them  with  food  and  aerate  their  blood. 
They  generally  live  in  the  deeper  seas,,  either  attached  to  other 
bodies  by  a  sinewy  stalk  proceeding  from  an  orifice  at  their 
apex,  or  fixed,  like  the  oyster,  by  their  shells. 

The  lamellibranchiate  bivalves,  which  are  spread  in  several 
thousand  species  over  all  the  seas  from  the  poles  to  the  equator, 
play  a  far  more  important  part  than  the  brachiopods  in  the 
present  economy  of  nature.  Every  flood  casts  their  empty  shells 
upon  all  the  coasts  of  the  ocean,  and  their  shattered  valves. are 
almost  as  numerous  as  the  sands  which  line  its  shores.  Their 
forms  and  their  colours  are  as  various  as  their  modes  of  life,  but 
their  structure  is  in  every  case  exactly  suited  to  their  wants. 

Those  which,  enjoying  a  free  life,  are  capable  of  wandering 
from  place  to  place,  or  at  least  of  changing  their  position, 


150 


THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 


Common  Cockle. 


possess  a  more  or  less  developed  and  variously-shaped  muscular 
foot,  which  they  protrude  at  will  from  between  the  folds  of 
their  mantle.  By  means  of  this  organ  many  are  able  to  dig 
a  hole  or  furrow  in  the  sand,  which  enables  them  to  baffle  the 
pursuit  of  many  enemies,  others  to  ad- 
vance with  a  crawling  movement  or  even 
to  make  jumps  along  the  sand.  Thus 
the  common  cockle  stretches  its  foot  (a) 
out  as  far  as  possible,  presses  it  against 
the  ground,  springs  up  by  suddenly  con- 
tracting it,  and,  by  repeating  the  process 
again  and  again,  hops  along  at  a  pace  one 
would  hardly  expect  to  meet  with  in  a 
mollusc.  In  other  genera,  where  the  foot  exists  but  in  a  small  or 
rudimentary  form,  the  sudden  opening  and  shutting  of  the  valves 
supplies  its  place  as  a  means  of  locomotion.  In  this  manner 
the  scallop,  which  inhabits  deep  places  where  it  lies  on  a  rocky 

or  shelly  bottom,  swims  or 
flies  through  the  water  with 
great  rapidity,  and  the  file 
or  rasp -mussel,  a  closely- 
related  genus,  principally 
occurring  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  glides  so  swiftly 
along  that  even  a  light- 
footed  pursuer  is  hardly 
able  to  catch  it.  In  several 
of  the  sedentary  genera, 
the  foot,  useless  as  an  organ 
of  locomotion,  is  reduced 
to  the  functions  of  spin- 
ning a  long  lustrous  and 
silky  fasciculus  or  bundle  of 
filaments  called  byssus  or 
beard,  which  serves  to  affix 
the  animal  to  any  solid 
body  sunk  in  the  sea. 
Generally  the  connection  is  permanent,  but  some  species, 
among  others  the  edible  mussel,  are  able  to  detach  the  fila- 
ment from  the  glandular  pedicle  situated  at  the  inferior  base 


Filament  of  a  Byssus,  highly  magnified. 
aaaa  disc-like  expansions. 


THE    PHOLADES. 


151 


of  the  foot  which  originally  secreted  them,  and  then  to  attach 
themselves  anew  to  some  other  object.  If  the  byssus  be  ex- 
amined under  a  powerful  lens,  before  any  of  the  filaments  are 
torn,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  these  are  fixed  to  submarine 
bodies  by  means  of  a  small  disc-like  expansion  of  their  ex- 
tremities of  various  extent  according  to  the  genus  and  species. 

The  pholades,  which  have  very  delicate  milky-white  valves, 
burrow  holes  in  limestone  or  sandstone  rocks,  though  occa- 
sionally they  content  themselves  with  houses  of  clay.  How 
shells  as  thin  as  paper  and  as  brittle  as  glass  are  able  to 
work  their  way  through  hard  stone  has  long  been  a  puzzle  to 
naturalists,  some  of  whom  asserted  that  they  attained  their 
object  by  means  of  an  acid  solvent,  others  that  they  bored 
like  an  auger  by  revolving,  but  recent  investigations  have  dis- 
covered that  their  short  and  truncated  foot  is  the  chief  instru- 
ment they  use  in  their  mining  operations.  For  it  is  not  only 
extremely  muscular,  but  provided  at  its  base  with  a  rough 
layer  of  sharp  crystals  of  flint,  which  when  worn  off  are  soon 
replaced  by  others,  and  act  as  excellent  files.  Thus  we  find  in 
the  same  class  of  animals  the  same  organ  most  variously  modi- 
fied in  form  and  structure,  now  serving  as  a  foot,  now  as  a 
spade,  or  as  a  spinning-machine  or  a  rasp,  and  throughout  all 
these  modifications  admirably  adapted  in  every  case  to  the 
mode  of  life  of  its  possessor.  The  bur- 
rowing molluscs  must  have  been  in  per- 
petual danger  of  suffocation  if  their  branchiae 
had  not  been  carefully  protected  against  the 
ingress  of  mud  or  sand.  To  prevent  this 
danger,  their  respiration  is  generally  effected 
by  means  of  a  double  siphon  (a  6),  one  for 
the  entrance  and  the  other  for  the  exit  of  the 
water,  a  perpetual  change  of  which  is  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  the  life  of  the  animal. 
The  interior  of  these  tubes  is  lined  with  in- 
numerable delicate  cilia,  by  the  action  of 
which  the  surrounding  water  is  drawn  to- 
wards the  entering  orifice,  and  conveyed 
in  a  strong  current  through  the  tube  over 
the  surface  of  the  gills.  Then,  having  been  deprived  of  its 
oxygen,  it  is  poured  through  the  other  tube,  and  expelled 


152  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

in  a  jet  at  its  extremity,  by  a  similar  machinery.  As  the 
burrowing  bivalve  usually,  if  not  always,  dwells  in  the 
interior  of  the  passage  it  has  excavated,  it  is  needful  that  there 
should  be  a  communication  with  the  external  water,  and  hence 
a  hole  is  always  found  extending  to  the  surface  of  the  material 
bored.  The  entering  and  departing  currents  keep  this  passage 
clear,  a  process  which  in  mud  or  sand  might  seem  at  first  not 
very  easy  of  accomplishment.  It  is  facilitated  however  by 
the  faculty  which  the  boring  bivalves  have  of  lengthening  the  . 
siphonal  tubes  at  will,  and  the  degree  to  which  this  may  be 
accomplished  depends  on  the  depth  of  the  cavity  which  the 
species  is  accustomed  to  make.  Yet  since  many  particles  of 
matter  float,  even  in  -clear  water,  which  from  their  form  or 
other  qualities  might  be  hurtful  to  the  delicate  tissue  of  the 
viscera  to  be  traversed,  how  is  the  entrance  of  these  to  be 
guarded  against  in  an  indiscriminating  current  ?  A  beautiful 
contrivance  is  provided  for  this  necessity.  The  margin  of  the 
entering  siphon,  and  sometimes,  though  more  rarely,  of  the 
ejecting  one,  is  set  round  with  a  number  of  short  tentacular 
processes,  expanding  like  feathery  leaves  and  varying  indeed  in 
their  length,  but  the  longest  scarcely  more  than  equalling  half 
the  diameter  of  the  mouth  of  the  tube. 

In  Pholas  dactylus,  this  apparatus,  which  is  here  confined  to 
the  oral  tube,  is  of  peculiar  beauty,  forming  a  network  of 
exquisite  tracery,  spread  across  the  orifice  through  the  inter- 
stices or  meshes  of  which  the  current  of  entering  water  freely 
percolates,  while  they  exclude  all  except  the  most  minute  float- 
ing atoms  of  extraneous  matter.  Thus  admirably  has  the  health 
and  comfort  of  the  lowly  shell-fish  been  provided  for,  that  spend 
their  whole  life  buried  in  sepulchres  of  stone  or  sand ! 

The  siphons,  which  are  frequently  connected  or  blended  into 
one  tube,  are  shorter,  or  even  reduced  to  simple  perforations, 
in  those  species  which  do  not  bury  themselves  so  deeply;  and 
in  the  oysters,  mussels,  and  other  genera  that  are  superficially 
attached  to  submarine  objects,  the  lobes  of  the  mouth  being 
completely  distinct,  the  water  is  admitted  at  once  to  the  bran- 
chiae as  soon  as  the  animal  opens  its  valves.  The  chief  use  of 
the  shell  is  as  a  means  of  defence,  and,  to  answer  this  purpose, 
it  must  naturally  increase  in  solidity  the  more  its  owner  is 
exposed  to  injury.  The  pholades  and  teredines  which  scoop 


OYSTERS.  153 

out  their  dwellings  in  stone  or  wood,  and  thus  enjoy  the  pro- 
tection of  a  retrenched  camp,  can  do  with  a  thin  and  brittle, 
or  even  with  a  mere  rudimentary  shell.  The  Solens,  which  at 
the  least  alarm  are  able  to  sink  rapidly  into  the  sand,  and 
indeed  very  rarely  quit  the  hole  in  which  they  are  comfortably 


Razor  shells. 
a  foot.     b  c  siphons. 

ensconced,  require  no  closely  fitting  valves ;  but  the  oysters, 
which  have  no  external  fortress  to  retire  to,  would  be  in  a  very 
bad  predicament  if  they  could  not  entirely  conceal  themselves 
within  their  thick  shells,  and  keep  them  closed  by  strong  mus- 
cular contraction.  Even  so,,  they  are  exposed  to  many  persecu- 
tions, not  only  of  man,  or  of  the  oyster-catcher  who  dexterously 
opens  them  with  his  strong  beak,  or  of  the  star-fish  who  clutches 
them  in  a  murderous  embrace,  but  of  a  whole  host  of  far  more 
minute  though  not  less  formidable  enemies.  Small  annelides, 
boring  through  the  shell,  attack  them  at  all  points,  and  though 
they  endeavour  to  parry  these  assaults  by  fresh  depositions  of 
pearly  matter,  their  strength  is  sorely  taxed  in  the  struggle. 
Soon  parasitic  sponges  establish  themselves  in  the  holes  pierced 
by  the  annelides,  and  eating  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  shell, 
at  length  entirely  exhaust  the  poor  victim,  who  sinking  under 
his  accumulated  misfortunes  gives  up  all  further  resistance,  and, 
breathing  his  last,  allows  the  enemy  to  penetrate  into  his 
gaping  valves  and  to  make  a  delicious  meal  of  his  remains. 

The  nervous  system  of  the  acephalous  mollusca  consists  of 
three  pair  of  ganglia,  which  send  their  filaments  to  the  respective 
organs.  The  sense  of  touch  appears  to  reside  in  every  part  of 
the  body  and  of  the  mantle ;  that  of  hearing  is  lodged  in  the 
foot,  and  consists  of  two  globular  capsulse  inclosing  a  limpid 
fluid,  and  a  calcareous  body  or  otolithe  suspended  from  the 
filaments  of  the  auditory  nerve,  to  which  all  its  vibrations  are 
instantly  communicated. 


154  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

The  eyes,  in  those  species  where  they  have  been  detected, 
appear  among  the  fringing  processes  of  the  margin  as  a  number 
of  glittering  studs  of  metallic  brilliancy,  and  though  of  a  very 
simple  structure,  no  doubt  give  their  owner  an  agreeable 
impression  of  light,  and  in  many  cases  a  timely  warning  of 
approaching  danger. 

The  whole  construction,  and  generally  the  extremely  re- 
stricted locomotion  of  the  bivalves,  tells  us  at  once  that  they 
are  unable  to  attack  their  prey,  but  must  be  satisfied  with  the 
food  which  the  sea-currents  carry  to  their  mouth.  Yet  they 
have  as  little  reason  to  complain  as  the  equally  slow  or  sessile 
polyps,  bryozoa,  and  tunicata,  for  the  waters  of  the  ocean  harbour 
such  incalculable  multitudes  of  microscopic  animals  and  plants 
that  their  moderate  appetite  never  remains  long  unsatisfied. 

The  same  streams  which  aerate  their  blood  also  convey  to 
their  mouth  all  the  food  which  they  require. 

The  gasteropoda  or  snails  are  more  highly  organized  than 
the  bivalve  molluscs.  The  body  is  more  symmetrical,  there  is 
a  greater  distinction  of  parts,  an  obvious  head,  an  evident  tail ; 
and,  save  that  the  body  is  without  legs,  we  have  often  a  con- 
siderable outward  resemblance  to  some  vertebrate  animal,  in 
the  form  of  the  body  and  in  the  expression  of  the  countenance. 
For  here  is  a  well-formed  face,  surmounted  by  two,  four,  or  six 
tentacula,  commonly  called  horns,  which  either,  as  in  the  snail, 
carry  each  an  eye  at  its  summit,  or,  as  is  the  case  in  most  of  the 
marine  kinds,  have  an  eye  on  a  prominence  at  the  base.  But 
very  few  remain  firmly  attached  to  some  foreign  body,  and 
make  use  of  their  rudimentary  foot  for  no  other  purpose  than 
for  opening  or  closing  the  lid  of  their  shell  ;  generally  a  strong 
muscular  disk  attached  to  the  ventral  surface  of  the  body 
(whence  the  whole  order  has  derived  its  name  of  gasteropoda 
or  stomach-footers)  serves  either  as  an  instrument  by  means  of 
which  the  animal  can  crawl,  or,  in  rarer  instances,  is  compressed 
into  a  muscular  membrane,  useful  in  swimming.  Some  of  the 
gasteropoda  are  naked,  while  the  majority  are  covered  with  a 
shell ;  some  are  formed  for  a  terrestrial,  others  for  an  aquatic 
life  ;  some  are  predacious,  others  herbivorous ;  and  thus  it  may 
easily  be  imagined  that  their  organization  must  offer  numerous 
modifications  to  suit  such  various  modes  of  life. 

Although  a   superficial  view  might  lead  us  to  believe  that 


SLUGS   AND    SNAILS  155 

Providence  had  left  the  naked  snails  without  any  defence 
against  their  enemies,  yet  they  have  many  means  of  escaping 
danger.  The  slug  contracts  itself  into  a  heap,  and  throws  from 
the  pores  of  its  body  a  thick  slimy  mucilage,  which  renders  it- 
difficult  to  make  any  impression  upon  its  body,  and  is  no  doubt 
extremely  offensive  to  many  of  its  brute  enemies.  The  crystal 
transparency  of  many  of  the  marine  species,  which  renders  them 
almost  undistinguishable  from  the  clear  sea  water,  screens  them 
from  numerous  persecutions.  Those  that  creep,  find  excellent 
places  of  concealment  in  the  crevices  of  rocks,  or  among  the 
branches  of  the  madrepores;  and  the  dorides,  on  contracting,  cast 
off  parts  of  their  mantle,  which  they  leave  in  possession  of  their 
hungry  foe,  while  they  themselves  make  their  escape. 

However  different  the  form  of  the  shell  may  be,  its  use  is 
invariably  the  same,  affording  the  soft-bodied  animal  a  shield 
or  retreat  against  external  injuries.  In  this  respect  it  is  not 
uninteresting  to  remark  that  those  species  which  inhabit  the 
coasts,  and  are  most  exposed  to  the  rolling  of  the  waves,  have 
thicker  and  stronger  shells  than  those  which  live  in  greater 
depths,  and  that  the  freshwater  molluscs  have  generally  a 
much  more  delicate  and  fragile  coat  than  those  which  live  in 
the  ocean. 

The  ianthinge,  however — who,  unlike  the  generality  of  shell- 
bearing  gasteropods,  pass  a  great  part  of  their  lives  floating  on 
the  water — form  a  remarkable  exception  to  this  rule,  as  in 
accordance  with  their  mode  of  life  their  transparent  shell  is 
extremely  light.  Their  foot  also  is  provided  with  a  vesicular 
organ  which  they  are  capable  of  inflating  with  air,  and  thus 
buoyed  up  ( like  little  wanton  boys  that  swim  on  bladders ' 
they  often  appear  in  vast  shoals  upon  the  surface  of  the  seas. 
As  soon  as  the  winds  ruffle  the  ocean,  they  immediately  empty 
their  air-cells,  and  sink  down  into  a  more  tranquil  element, 
and  as  a  means  of  defence  against  their  hungry  foes  they  are 
capable  of  pouring  out  a  purple  liquid  which  tinges  the  water 
all  around. 

It  is  an  invariable  rule  that,  the  greater  the  necessity  of  pro- 
tection, the  better  has  nature  provided  for  the  want.  Thus 
most  of  the  larger  sea-snails,  besides  possessing  a  stone-hard 
dwelling,  are  also  furnished  at  the  extremity  of  the  foot  with  an 
operculum,  or  calcareous  lid,  which  fits  like  a  door  upon  the  en- 


156  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

trance  of  their  house,  and  closes  it  like  a  fortress  against  the 
outer  world.  But  no  animal  exists  that  is  safe  against  every 
attack,  for  the  large  sea-birds  sometimes  carry  the  ponderous 
snails,  whose  entrance  they  cannot  force  with  their  beaks,  high 
up  into  the  air,  and  let  them  fall  upon  the  rocks,  where  they 
are  dashed  to  pieces. 

The  limpets,  slowly  crawling  over  the  stones  under  their 
shield-like  cover,  have  no  operculum  to  close  its  entrance,  but 
their  broad-soled  foot  renders  a  door  perfectly  unnecessary ; 
for,  acting  like  a  powerful  sucker,  it  clings  with  such  tenacity  to 
the  rock,  that  it  requires  the  introduction  of  a  knife  between 
the  shell  and  the  stone  to  detach  them.  It  has  been  calculated 
that  the  larger  species  are  thus  able  to  produce  a  resistance 
equivalent  to  a  weight  of  150  Ibs.,  which,  considering  the  sharp 
angle  of  the  shell,  is  more  than  sufficient  to  defy  the  strength 
of  a  man  to  raise  them.  It  is  also  said  that  crows,  and  other 
birds,  which  endeavour  to  detach  them  for  food,  are  sometimes 
caught  by  the  points  of  their  bills,  and  are  held  there  until 
drowned  by  the  advancing  tide. 

The  land-snails  have  also  no  operculum,  but  before  they  fall 
into  their  winter-sleep,  they  close  the  mouth  of  their  shells 
with  a  calcareous  secretion  which,  stopping  it  up,  entirely 
protects  it  from  every  external  injury.  In  the  centre  is  an 
extremely  minute  orifice,  communicating  with  the  lungs ;  and 
this  minute  hole,  though  not  large  enough  to  admit  a  drop  of 
water,  is  of  sufficient  capacity  for  the  passage  of  air.  Not 
unfrequently,  on  removing  this  cover,  a  second  or  even  a  third 
similar  one  will  be  found  within,  forming  additional  safeguards 
against  intrusion  or  the  vicissitudes  of  temperature. 

When  the  genial  warmth  of  spring  awakens  the  snail  to  a 
state  of  activity,  its  covering,  now  no  longer  needed,  drops  off, 
and  the  animal,  protruding  its  horned  head,  sets  out  in  quest  of 
food,  anxious  to  make  amends  for  its  long  abstinence  by 
feasting  on  the  first  tender  leaves  that  fall  in  its  way. 

The  respiratory  organs  of  the  gasteropoda  are  found  to  be 
constructed  upon  very  various  principles,  according  to  the 
medium  which  they  inhabit  or  the  peculiarities  of  their  mode  of 
life.  The  common  land -snails,  as  well  as  the  freshwater  snails, 
breathe  air,  which  is  received  into  a  cavity  lined  with  delicate 
network,  analogous  to  the  lungs  of  air-breathing  animals,  and 


THE   GASTEROPODS. 


157 


the  freshwater  kinds  are  obliged  to  rise  to  the  surface  every 
time  they  require  to  take  in  fresh  air.  Such  a  mode  of  aerating 
the  blood  would  obviously  be  unsuited  to  marine  gasteropoda 
which  are  consequently  all  furnished  with  branchiae  or  gills 
differently  placed.  In  the  naked  sea-slugs  they  expand  freely 
in  the  water,  like  the  tentacula  of  the  sea  anemone,  and  nothing 
can  be  more  elegant  than  their  forms  or  arrangement.  In  the 
glauci  and  scyllaaa  we  see  at  each  side  of  the  elongated  body  long 


Scylh 


Glaucus. 


arms  branching  out  into  tufted  filaments  ;  while  in  the  briarei  a 
hundred  furcated  stems  serve  for  the  aeration  of  the  blood.  In 
the  eolides  they  assume  the  shape  of  long  riband-like  lamellae, 


Eolis. 

disposed  in  imbricated  rows  ;  in  the  dorides  they  form  a  wreath 
or  garland  round  the  lower  intestinal  aperture.  But  whatever 
their  form,  their  structure  is  essentially  the  same,  each  tuft  or 
lamella  containing  the  ramifications  of  the  branchial  vessels, 
and  effecting  the  oxygenisation  of  the  blood  by  the  extent  of 
surface  which  they  expose  to  the  water. 

In  the  far  more  numerous  gasteropoda  provided  with  covered 
gills,  we  find  the  same  variety  of  arrangement  as  in  the  nudi- 
branchiate  genera.  In  some  they  are  placed  on  one  side  of  the 


158 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


body,  under  the  deep  fold  of  the  mantle ;  in  others  they  form 
a  fringe  round  the  margin  of  the  body,  between  the  edge  of  the 
mantle  and  the  foot,  while  in  all  the  spiral  univalve  molluscs 
whose  shells  enrich  our  cabinets,  they  are  shaped  like  the  teeth 
of  a  comb,  and  placed  in  a  large  hollow  chamber  in  the  animal, 
communicating  with  the  surface  by  a  wide  slit,  through  which 
the  water  finds  free  access  to  the  gills. 

The   digestive    apparatus  of    the   gasteropoda  offers   many 
points  of  considerable  interest.    The  mouth,  in  many  species, 

is  furnished  with  sharp 
and  strong  teeth,  as  for 
instance  in  the  tritonia, 
where  it  is  armed  with 
two  cutting  blades  (6  6), 
resembling  in  every  re- 
spect a  pair  of  strong 
curved  shears,  which,  set  in 
motion  by  powerful  mus- 
cular fibres,  are  so  effi- 
cacious that  few  animal  structures  can  resist  their  edge.  The 
lips  which  are  placed  in  front  of  these  teeth  are  strong  and 
very  flexible,  forming  a  muscular  tube,  by  means  of  which  the 
food  is  seized  and  brought  within  the  power  of  its  formidable 
jaws,  and  then  the  divided  morsels,  being  seized  by  the  horny 
teeth  which  invest  the  tongue  (d),  are  conveyed  into  the 
oesophagus. 

In  others  the  process  of  digestion  is  facilitated  by  strong 
bony  gizzards,  which  bruise  the  food  in  its  passage  into  the 
stomach ;  and  in  others  the  tongue  is  armed  with  spinous  pro- 
cesses obviously  intended 
to  assist  in  the  preparation 
of  the  food.  That  of  the 
limpet,  which  is  three 
times  the  length  of  the 
body,  is  supported  by  two 
cartilaginous  pieces  (6  6) 

A,  limpet's  tongue.    B,  portion  magnified,  placed  On  each  side  of  its 

root.  From  these  arise  strong  and  short  muscles,  which 
wield  the  organ.  The  surface  of  this  singular  tongue,  a  mag- 
nified view  of  which  is  given  at  B,  is  armed  with  minute  though 


THE    PTEROPODS.  159 

strong  teeth,  placed  in  transverse  rows,  and  arranged  in  three 
series ;  each  central  group  consists  of  four  spines,  while  those 
on  the  sides  contain  but  two  apiece.  In  the  upper  part  of  the 
circumference  of  the  mouth,  we  find  a  semi-circular,  horny  plate, 
resembling  an  upper  jaw,  and  the  tongue,  by  triturating  the  food 
against  this,  gradually  reduces  substances,  however  hard.  On 
opening  the  limpet  the  tongue  is  fodhd  doubled  upon  itself,  and 
folded  in  a  spiral  manner  beneath  the  viscera. 

Although  they  are  deprived  of  all  higher  instincts,  yet  we  find 
among  the  gasteropoda  a  few  examples  of  concealment  under 
extraneous  objects,  which  remind  us  of  the  masks  and  artifices 
frequently  employed  by  the  insects  and  the  crustaceans.  The 
agglutinating  top  (trochus  agglutinans)  covers  itself  with  small 
stones  and  fragments  of  shells,  and,  thus  shielded  from  the  view, 
escapes  the  voracity  of  many  an  enemy  but  little  suspecting  the 
savoury  morsel  hidden  under  the  little  mound  of  rubbish  which  he 
disdainfully  passes  by.  In  animals  whic^  are  only  provided  with 
passive  means  of  defence,  we  may  naturally  expect  a  consider- 
able degree  of  caution,  and  in  this  respect  the  gasteropoda 
might  give  many  useful  lessons  to  man.  See  how  carefully  our 
garden-snail  protrudes  her  tentacles,  as  far  as  possible,  to  sound 
every  obstacle  in  her  way  before  she  drags  herself  farther 
along,  and  how  quickly  she  withdraws  into  her  shell  at  the 
least  symptom  of  danger.  What  an  example  to  so  many  of 
us  that  leap  before  they  look,  and  frequently  break  their  necks 
in  the  fall. 

While  the  snails,  whether  terrestrial  or  marine,  are  proverbi- 
ally slow,  the  pteropods,  or  wing-footers,  swimming  by  the  aid 
of  two  muscular  expansions  resembling  fins,  and  attached  to 
the  opposite  sides  of  the  neck,  are  remarkable  for  the  velocity 
of  their  movements.  They  have  no  disk  to  walk  upon  like 
the  gasteropods,  but  resemble  them  by  the 
possession  of  a  head  distinct  from  the  rest 
of  the  body,  which  some,  like  the  hyaleas 
and  cleodoras,  conceal  in  a  thin  trans- 
parent or  translucent  shell;  while  others, 
like  the  blue  and  violet  clios,  beautifully 
variegated  with  light  red  spots,  are  per- 
fectly  naked.  They  are  met  with  in  all 
seas  under  the  equator,  as  well  as  in  the  vicinity  of  the  polar 


160  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATUEE. 

circle;  and,  being  eminently  constructed  for  a  sea  life,  never 
approach  the  shore.  They  are  all,  moreover,  nocturnal  or 
crepuscular,  voyagers  agreeing  that  they  are  never  to  be  seen 
during  a  clear  day,  when  the  sun  shines  brightly ;  but  towards 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  the  weather  is  cloudy,  two  or 
three  species  begin  to  make  their  appearance  at  the  surface  of 
the  water.  Thence  onwaMBs  their  numbers  increase,  but  each 
species  seems  to  have  its  appropriate  hour,  or  rather  its  ap- 
propriate degrees  of  darkness.  As  the  night  sets  in,  all  the 
smaller  species  gradually  disappear,  as  do  the  large  ones  a  little 
later ;  and  towards  midnight  a  few  stragglers  only  of  different 
kinds  are  to  be  met  with.  At  sunrise  not  a  single  pteropod 
is  to  be  seen,  either  at  the  surface  or  at  any  depth  to  which  the 
eye  can  penetrate.  They  swim  in  a  very  peculiar  manner. 
Their  cephalic  fins  are  only  able  to  support  them  by  a  constant 
repetition  of  rapid  movements,  resembling  those  of  the  wings 
of  a  butterfly.  These  fiffs  are  kept  in  motion  continually ;  and, 
according  to  the  direction  of  their  stroke,  the  animal  advances 
horizontally,  or  mounts  or  descends,  the  body  remaining  all 
the  time  either  in  a  vertical  position  or  slightly  inclined.  If, 
while  they  are  thus  in  motion,  the  appearance  of  any  strange 
body  causes  them  alarm,  their  wings  fold  upon  their  bodies,  or  in 
some  species  are  entirely  withdrawn  into  their  shell,  and  the 
animal  sinks  rapidly  to  a  greater  depth.  They  seize  their  prey 
partly  like  the  Pneumodermas,  with  tentacular  arms;  partly 
like  the  Clios,  by  means  of  six  conical  appendages  to  the 
head,  which,  when  fully  expanded,  form  a  kind  of  star  round 
the  mouth,  and  when  strongly  magnified,  exhibit  a  truly 
admirable  structure,  and  indeed  quite 
unparalleled  in  the  animal  creation.  For 
each  of  these  small  cones  is  furnished  with 
about  three  thousand  prehensile  organs, 
consisting  of  a  transparent  sheath  (a) 
enclosing  a  central  body  composed  of  a 
stem  terminated  by  a  kind  of  tuft,  which 
last  can  be  protruded  at  times  beyond 
the  margin  of  the  sheath.  When  viewed 
laterally,  it  is  apparent  that  this  central 
body  consists  of  several  filaments  or 
tubes,  every  one  of  which  (6)  expands  at  its  extremity  into  a 


TPIE    CUTTLE    FISH. 


161 


dilated  portion  terminated  by  a  little  disk,  and  about  twenty 
of  these  are  enclosed  in  each  sheath.  Thus  every  one  of 
these  little  creatures, which 
often  crowd  the  surface  of 
the  Polar  Seas  in  incalcu- 
lable numbers,  and  form 
the  chief  nourishment  of 
the  huge  whale,  is  fur- 
nished with  no  less  than 
three  hundred  and  sixty  - 
thousand  sucking  disks — 
a  magnificent  profusion, 
which  may  well  be  called 
one  of  the  miracles  £>f 
Nature  !  But  we  have 
not  yet  done  with  the  Clio, 
for  on  opening  its  mouth 
we  shall  find  new  occasions 
to  admire  the  care  that 
has  been  bestowed  upon  its 
organisation.  On  each  side 
of  the  buccal  aperture  pro- 
jects a  hard  shining  sub- 
stance, which  is  not  a  single 
tooth,  as  it  might  appear  to 
the  naked  eye,  but  rather 
a  dental  apparatus  (a),  consisting  of  a  bundle  of  about  thirty  gold- 
coloured  crooked,  stiff,  and  sharp  hooks  derived  from  a  common 
base,  and  forming  a  pair  of  lateral  jaws,  which,  when  protruded, 
seize  their  prey  like  a  couple  of  long  tenacious  combs.  A  tongue- 
like  organ  (d)  situated  in  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  and  studded 
with  about  eight  hundred  booklets  assists  their  functions,  and 
facilitates  the  propulsion  of  the  food  into  the  stomach. 

As  the  sea-urchins  are  the  first  among  the  radiata,  thus  the 
cuttle-fish  are  the  most  perfect  specimens  of  the  molluscar  type. 
These  remarkable  creatures  consist  of  two  distinct  parts : — 
the  body,  which  in  form  of  a  sack,  open  to  the  front,  encloses  the 
branchiae  and  digestive  organs;  and  the  well -developed  head,  pro- 
vided with  a  pair  of  sharp-sighted  eyes,  and  crowned  with  a  ring 
of  feet,  arms,  or  feelers. 

M 


Clio  Borealis. 

a  dental  apparatus,  and  6  c  single  teeth,  magnified  28 
diameters,  d  lateral  view  of  free  portion  of  tongue 
magnified  130  diameters. 


162 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


All  the  cephalopoda  are  marine  animals,  and  breathe  through 
branchiae  or  gills.     These  organs  are  concealed  under  the  mouth 


Cuttle -fish.    (Sepia.) 

in  a  cave  or  hollow,  which  alternately  expands  and  contracts, 
and  communicates  by  two  openings  with  the  outer  world.  The 
one,  in  form  of  a  slit,  serves  to  receive  the  water;  the  other, 
which  is  tubular,  is  used  for  its  expulsion. 

According  to  the  different  number  of  their  branchiae,  the  eepha- 
lopods  are  divided  into  two  natural  groups,  one  with  four,  the 
other  with  two  gills.  The  former,  which  abounded  in  the  primi- 
tive ocean,  is  reduced  in  the  present  seas  to  the  single  genus 

of  the  Nautili;  the  latter,  which 
is  far  more  numerous,  is  subdi- 
vided into  the  two  great  families 
of  the  octopods  and  the  decapods; 
the  former  having  only  eight  sessile 
feet,  the  latter  ten,  two  of  which 
are  considerably  longer  than  the 
rest.  The  feet  are  studded  on  the 
inner  surface  with  acetabula  or  suck- 
ers, either  sessile  or  pedunculated. 
The  sessile  cups  of  the  octopods  are 
muscular  disks  with  a  soft  and  tumid 
margin  (e),  and  a  circular  aperture  in 
the  centre  (#),  opening  into  a  cavity 
which  widens  as  it  descends,  and  con- 
tains a  cone  of  soft  substance  rising 
from  its  bottom  like  the  piston  of  a 
syringe.  When  the  sucker  is  applied  to  a  surface  for  the  purpose  of 
adhesion,  the  piston,  having  previously  been  raised  so  as  to  fill  the 


Section  of  an  Arm  and  Suckers 
of  a  Poulp. 


THE    ONYCHOTEUTI11S. 


163 


cavity,  is  retracted  so  as  to  produce  a  vacuum ;  and  such  is  the 

muscular  force  of  the  animal  that  it 

is  easier  to  tear  away  the  substance  of 

the  limb  than  to  release  it  from  its 

attachments. 

In  the  decapods,  which  are  not  con- 
fined to  the  coasts  like  the  eight-footed 
poulps,  but  have  to  contend  with  the 
agile,  slippery,  and  mucus-clad  fishes, 
we  find  the  disks  provided  with  a  sharp 
hook  fixed  in  the  centre,  and  to  add 
to  their  efficacy  they  are  mounted  on 
stalks  movable  in  every  direction.  Let 
the  reader  picture  to  himself  these 
weapons,  clustered  at  the  expanded 
terminations  of  the  tentacles  (/),  and 
arranged  in  a  double  alternate  series 
along  the  whole  internal  surface  of 
the  eight  muscular  feet  (c),  and  he 
will  have  some  idea  of  the  formidable 
nature  of  the  Onychoteuthis. 
Besides  the  hooked  acetabula,  a  cluster 
of  small  simple  unarmed  suckers  may 
be  observed  at  the  base  of  the  expanded 
part.  These  add  greatly  to  the  animal's 
prehensile  powers,  for  when  they  are 
applied  to  one  another  (e),  the  tenta- 
cles are  firmly  locked  together  at  that 
point,  and  the  united  strength  of  both 
the  elongated  peduncles  can  be  applied 
to  drag  towards  the  mouth  any  resist- 
ing object  which  has  been  grappled  by 
the  terminal  hooks.  There  is  no  me- 
chanical contrivance  which  surpasses 
this  admirable  structure. 

The  size  of  the  arms  and  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  suckers  differ  con- 
siderably in  the  various  species.     In 
the  octopods,  which  generally  lead  a  more  sedentary  creeping  life 
and  clinging  to  stones  seize  the  passing  prey,  the  arms,  in  ac- 

M2 


Arms  and  Tentacles  of  an 
Onychoteuthis. 


164  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

cordance  with  their  wants,  are,  with  rare  exceptions,  longer,  more 
muscular,  and  stronger  than  in  the  actively-swimming  decapods, 
where  the  two  elongated  tentacles  or  peduncles  are  the  chief 
organs  of  prehension.  In  some  species  we  find  the  arms  distinct 
— in  others  they  are  united  by  a  membrane.  Some  have  a 
double  row  of  suckers  on  each  arm,  others  four  rows,  others 
again  but  one. 

So  wonderful  are  the  variations  which  Nature,  that  consummate 
artist,  plays  upon  a  single  theme — so  inexhaustible  are  the  modi- 
fications she  introduces  into  the  formation  of  numerous  species, 
all  constructed  upon  the  same  fundamental  plan,  and  all  equally 
perfect  in  their  kind  !  Besides  their  arms,  by  help  of  which  the 
cephalopods  either  swim  or  creep,  the  forcible  expulsion  of  the 
water  through  the  air-tube  serves  them  as  a  means  of  locomotion 
in  a  backward  direction.  By  those  which  have  an  elongated- 
body  and  comparatively  strong  muscles,  this  movement  is  per- 
formed with  such  violence  that  they  shoot  like  arrows  through 
the  water,  or,  even  like  the  flying-fish,  perform  a  long  curve 
through  the  air,  so  as  not  seldom  to  bolt  right  over  a  sailing 
ship,  like  a  sportsman  over  a  five-barred  gate.  Finally,  the  fin- 
like  expansion  of  their  mantle,  which  in  some  species  runs  along 
the  sides  of  the  body,  and  in  others  forms  a  kind  of  terminal 
paddle,  renders  the  nimble  decapods  good  service  in  propelling 
them  forwards  in  the  water. 

When  a  cephalopod  has  got  hold  of  a  fish  or  crab,  the  arms, 
by  sucking  or  hooking,  instantly  convey  the  luckless  animal  to 
the  mouth,  where  it  is  pitilessly  crushed  by  two  powerful 
horny  or  calcareous  jaws,  fitting  one  over  the  other  like  the 
mandibles  of  a  tortoise.  It  might  be  supposed  that  the  cepha- 
lopods, by  their  swiftness,  their  arms,  and  their  powerful  jaws, 
were  sufficiently  provided  with  the  means  of  attack  or  defence ; 
but  Nature  has  besides  favoured  most  of  them  with  a  remarkable 
secretory  organ,  producing  a  black  fluid  and  opening  into  the 
air-tube.  When  pursued  by  its  enemies,  the  animal  ejects  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  this  inky  liquid  to  form  a  thick  cloud 
in  the  water,  which  serves  to  conceal  it  from  its  foe. 

The  enormous  numbers  and  prodigious  variety  of  the  mol- 
luscs are  sufficient  proofs  of  their  importance  in  the  economy 
of  Nature.  The  terrestrial  snails  are  disseminated  in  more  than 
2,200  species  over  the  surface  of  the  globe;  the  slimy  slugs  infest 


PROPAGATION    OF   THE    MOLLUSCS.  165 

every  field  and  garden  ;  hosts  of  Limnaese  people  every  pond  ; 
and  the  sea  absolutely  swarms  with  molluscs  which  either  graze 
upon  the  submarine  pastures,  or,  warring  upon  each  other,  serve 
in  their  turn  as  food  to  countless  enemies.  Animals  generally 
so  defenceless,  and  exposed  to  so  many  persecutions,  must  neces- 
sarily multiply  in  an  analogous  ratio.  The  calamary  produces 
from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  eggs  in  a  single  season  ;  a  thousand 
garden  slugs  are  capable  of  rnultiplying  in  one  year  to  the 
number  of  five  hundred  millions ;  and  the  oyster  lays  several 
millions  of  eggs  in  the  course  of  the  summer.  The  germs  of  a 
new  generation  become  more  numerous  as  the  means  of  defence 
are  smaller ;  and  thus  we  find  the  sedentary  and  helpless  mussels 
more  prolific  than  the  cephalopods,  which  have  been  so  admira- 
bly equipped  both  for  defensive  strategy  and  for  offensive 
warfare. 


166  THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

WORMS. 

Are  they  in  reality  so  helpless  as  is  commonly  supposed  ? — Beauty  of  the  Free 
Marine  Ann  elides — Their  Mode  of  Life — Tubicolar  Worms— Leeches — Earth- 
worms— Nemerta  Gigantea — Kotifera — Their  Complex  Organisation  and  their 
Habits, 

WORMS  are  commonly  supposed  to  be  the  very  images  of  help- 
lessness and  degradation — their  name  is  often  used  to  express  all 
that  is  abject  and  low;  but  a  closer  inspection  soon  convinces  us 
that  their  organisation  is  far  too  wonderful  to  justify  contempt, 
and  that,  like  every  other  work  of  their  Divine  Maker,  they  are 
beautiful  and  perfect  in  their  kind.  Many  of  them,  no  doubt, 
are  so  lowly  placed  in  the  scale  of  organic  creation,  that  they 
can  only  live,  as  parasites,  upon  the  blood  or  juices  of  other 
animals ;  in  many  the  structure  of  the  body  is  reduced  to  very 


Nereis. 

simple  elements,  such  as  befit  an  indolent  and  inert  existence; 
but  the  higher  members  of  the  class,  the  vagrant  marine  anne- 
lides,  are  richly  provided  with  all  the  means  of  leading  a  life  of 
activity  and  enjoyment. 

A  red  blood  circulates  in  their  veins ;  thousands  of  muscles 
direct  the  serpentine  movements  of  their  body,  which  frequently 
consists  of  several  hundred  segments  or  rings ;  and  each  ring 


THE    ANNELIDES.  167 

has  its  delicately-formed  branchiae  (/),  and  its  bristly  feet  (a  6), 
serving  both  for  locomotion,  and  for  clasping  their  prey  in  a 
deadly  embrace.  Clothed  in  robes  of  metallic  brilliancy,  these 
beautiful  worms  of  the  ocean,  to  whom  the  naturalists  have 
given  the  most  flattering  names 
of  Greek  mythology  —  Nereis, 
Euphrosyne,  Eunice,  Alciopa, — 
glide  through  the  crevices  of  sub- 
marine rocks,  or  conceal  them- 
selves among  the  water-plants, 
or  in  the  mud  or  sand  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  Here  they 
lie  in  wait  for  their  prey,  ready, 
like  the  larger  snakes  of  the  dry 
land,  to  dart  forth  suddenly  upon 
the  first  unfortunate  crustacean 

or  naked  mollusc  that  heedlessly  Foot  of  an  Anneiide. 

swims  by :  but  their  care  must  be  great  not  to  be  led  too  far 
away  by  the  ardour  of  the  chase,  for  the  sea  swarms  with  their 
enemies,  and  woe  to  the  annelide  that  falls  into  the  grasp  of  the 
formidable  cuttle-fish,  or  comes  within  the  reach  of  the  ferocious 
crab,  or  meets  the  eye  of  the  greedy  eel — for,  once  in  the  power 
of  these  inexorable  enemies,  it  must  bid  farewell  to  life ! 

Besides  the  erratic  ann elides,  which  must  be  considered  as  the 
most  perfect  of  their  class,  the  sea  contains  a  large  number  of 
sedentary  worms,  leading  a  solitary  hermit-life,  in  tubes  formed 
by  the  mucus  which  is  secreted  by  the  skin,  and  which,  while 
hardening,  commonly  agglutinates  together  fragments  of  shells 
and  sand.     Some  of  these  sheaths  are  of  extreme  tenuity,  others 
as  tough  as  thick  leather,  and  many  possess  very  considerable 
hardness,  being  composed,  in  great  proportion,  of  carbonate  of 
lime,  like  the  shells  of  molluscs.     As  these  tubicolar  annelides 
lead  so  very  different  a  life  from  that  of  their  roaming  relations, 
their  internal  structure  may  naturally  be  supposed  to  be  very 
different :  for  where  is  the  living  being  whose  organisation  does 
not  perfectly  harmonise  with  his  wants  ?     Thus  we  have  here  no 
bristling  feet,  or  lateral -respiratory  appendages ;   but  instead  of 
these  organs,  which  in  this  case  would  have  been  perfectly  use- 
less, we  find  the  head  surmounted  by  a  beautiful  crown  of  feathery 
tentacula,  which  equally  serve  for  breathing  and  the  seizure  of 


168 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


a  passing  prey.  Completely  closed  at  the  inferior  extremity, 
the  tube  shows  us,  at  its  upper  end,  a  round  opening — the  only 
window  through  which  our  anchorite  can  peep  into  the  world, 
seize  his  food,  and  refresh  his  blood  by  exposing  the  beautiful 


Terebella  Conchilega. 


Serpula  Oon- 
tortuplicata. 


Sab  ell  a  Unispira. 
Sabella  Alveolaria. 


plumes  of  his  floating  branchiae  to  the  vivifying  influence  of  the 
water. 

But  how  is  the  safety  of  these  beautiful  little  creatures,  inca- 
pable as  they  are  of  flight,  provided  for — how  do  they  manage  to 
escape  their  enemies  ?  Mark  a  serpula  expanding  its  gorgeous 
coronet  in  the  water,  and  the  question  will  soon  be  answered ; 
for  at  the  least  shock,  at  the  least  vibration,  you  will  see  the 
splendid  tufts  suddenly  contract,  and  dive  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning  into  their  stronghold,  shutting  at  the  same  time  the 


LEECHES. 


169 


door  after  them,  a  small  round  richly-coloured  lid,  exactly  fit- 
ting the  orifice,  and  hermetically  closing  it  against  all  intruders. 

The  tubicular  annelides  (such  as  the  terebellse,  serpulaB,  and 
sabella})  have  the  greatest  resemblance  in  their  mode  of  life 
with  the  sedentary  polypes,  the  flustrse,  and  the  barnacles ;  for  all 
these  animals,  firmly  linked  to  the  spot  on  which  they  live,  de- 
pend for  their  food  upon  the  prey  which  the  sea,  their  bounteous 
mother,  wafts  within  their  grasp,  and  all,  at  the  approach 
of  danger,  shrink  within  the  hollow  of  their  shells  or  cells. 
Yet  how  different  is  their  internal  structure,  as  they  not  only 
belong  to  different  families  of  one  class,  but  even  to  totally  dif- 
ferent classes  of  animals  !  Thus  we  find  a  prodigal  multiplicity 
of  form  in  creatures,  whose  sensations  and  enjoyments  seem  to 
be  entirely  on  a  level,  for  it  has  been  the  Creator's  will  that  the 
beauteous  variety  of  our  flower-beds  should  adorn  the  sub- 
marine gardens  of  the  crystal  deep. 

The  sweet  water  of  the  ponds  and  rivulets  is  far  less  abundant 
in  annelides  than  the  briny  sea.  Here  the  small  naides  glide 
swiftly  about,  by  means  of  their  long  bristly  feet,  or  attach 
themselves  to  aquatic  plants ;  here  also  is  the  seat  of  the  water- 
leeches,  a  peculiar  genus  of  worms,  provided 
with  a  sucker  at  both  ends  of  the  body,  serving 
them  both  for  locomotion  and  for  attaching 
themselves  to  their  prey. 

The  mouth,  situated  in  the  middle  of  the 
cavity  of  the  anterior  sucker,  is  as  admirable  a 
piece  of  mechanism  as  that  of  the  sea-urchin. 
Three  jaws  are  disposed  around  it  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  their»edges,  forming  an  obtuse  angle, 
meet  in  the  centre  like  the  radii  of  a  circle. 
Each  jaw  has  two  rows  of  minute  teeth  at  its 
edge,  so  as  to  resemble  a  small  saw,  and  is  im- 
bedded at  its  base  in  a  layer  of  muscle,  by  the 
action  of  which  it  is  worked  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  cut  into  the  skin — and  thus  the  well-known 
triradiate  form  of  the  leech-bite  is  occasioned, 
character  of  the  wound  is  very  favourable  to  the  flow  of  blood, 
which  is  still  further  encouraged  by  the  action  of  the  sucker. 

Armed  with  a  weapon  so  beautifully  adapted  to  their  wants, 
the  leeches  not  only  attack  the  frogs  and  fishes,  on  whose  fluids 


Leeches  (Hirudo 
mecticmalis.) 


The  lacerated 


170  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

they  chiefly  subsist,  but  also  the  quadrupeds — horses,  cattle,  wild 
animals — that  come  to  slake  their  thirst  or  to  bathe  in  the  pools 
which  they  infest.  But  they,  in  their  turn,  have  to  encounter  a 
host  of  enemies :  the  large  water-beetles  and  their  larvae  destroy 
them  by  myriads;  several  of  the  fishes  esteem  them  as  dainty 
morsels,  and  numerous  water-birds  and  waders  rejoice  in  their 
capture. 

While  the  land-leech  besets  the  traveller  in  the  rising  grounds 
of  Ceylon,  or  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  Himalaya,  and  is  detested 
as  the  greatest  plague  to  be  encountered  in  the  humid  forests, 
the  medicinal  leech  of  Europe  renders,  as  is  well  known,  such 
signal  services  as  a  remedial  agent  in  inflammatory  diseases, 
that  millions  are  annually  used.  This  vast  consumption  has 
already  exhausted  numerous  lakes  and  ponds,  in  which  it  for- 
merly abounded ;  so  that  while  a  few  years  since  the  hospitals 
of  Germany,  France,  and  Grreat  Britain  drew  their  chief  supply 
from  the  Hungarian  marshes,  they  now  receive  their  leeches 
from  the  lagunes  of  the  Volga  and  the  Don. 

On  the  dry  land  the  chief  representatives  of  the  annelides 
are  the  earthworms,  which,  piercing  and  traversing  the  ground 
in  every  direction,  subsist  on  roots,  woody  fibres,  animal  matter, 
and  other  organised  substances.  Though  small  and  despised 
creatures,  the  part  they  perform  in  the  operations  of  Nature  is 
highly  important ;  for  insinuating  their  pointed  head  between 
the  particles  of  the  earth  like  a  wedge,  and  then  drawing  for- 
wards the  hinder  parts  by  a  shortening  of  the  body,  they  forcibly 
dilate  the  passage  into  which  the  head  has  been  already  thrust, 
and  thus  by"  the  united  labours  of  myriads  the  earth  is  light- 
ened, and  vegetation  thereby  wonderfully  assisted. 

Thus  the  obscure  earthworm  renders  indirectly  considerable 
services  to  man,  and  giving  a  kind  of  under-tillage  to  the  land, 
performs  below  ground  the  same  office  that  the  spade  performs  for 
the  garden,  and  the  plough  for  arable  land.  Compared  with  the 
marine  annelides,  the  organization  of  the  earthworm  seems  but 
rude  and  imperfect,  as  it  has  neither  the  numerous  feet  of  the 
elegantly-swimming  nereids,  nor  the  magnificent  crown  of  the 
serpulaB,  and  occupies  about  the  same  rank  as  the  lob-worm, 
so  common  on  our  coasts,  where  it  is  dug  for  by  the  fishermen 
as  bait.  Along  the  rings  of  the  middle  part  of  the  lob-worm's 
body  are  gills  of  an  arborescent  form,  corresponding  with  the 


THE    BAND-WORM.  171 

semi-aquatic  life  of  the  animal,  while  the  earthworm  respires 
through  internal  pulmonary  vesicles.  Both  worms  have  neither 
the  eyes  nor  the  antennae  nor  the  well-armed  jaws  which  dis- 
tinguish the  higher  orders  of  the  class,  and  are  thus  no  better 
than  plebeians  in  the  little  commonwealth  of  the  annelides. 
The  turbellarise  and  the  intestinal  worms,  however,  stand  on  a 
still  lower  step  of  organic  development ;  for  the  former,  which 
are  partly,  like  the  nemertinse,  of  an  elongated  wormlike  form  of 
body,  partly  of  a  flattened  shape,  like  the  planarise,  show  no 
trace  of  segments  or  rings,  and  being  entirely  deprived  of  pecu- 
liar respiratory  organs,  breathe  merely  through  the  entire  out- 
ward surface  of  their  naked  bodies. 

The  great  band-worm  (Nemertes  gigas)  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  examples  of  this  low  type  of  annelism.  It  is  from 
thirty  to  forty  feet  long,  about  half  an  inch  broad,  flat  like  a 
ribbon,  of  brown  or  violet  colour,  and  smooth  and  shining  like 
lackered  leather.  Among  the  loose  boulders  or  in  the  crevices 
of  submerged  rocks,  where  it  feasts  on  minute  shells  and  other 
tiny  creatures  of  the  deep,  this  gigantic  sea-worm  forms  a  thou- 
sand seemingly  inextricable  knots,  which  it  is  constantly  un- 
ravelling and  tying.  When  after  having  devoured  all  the  food 
within  its  reach,  or  from  some  other  cause,  it  desires  to  shift  its 
quarters,  it  stretches  out  a  long  dark-coloured  ribbon,  surmounted 
by  a  head  like  that  of  a  snake,  but  without  its  wide  mouth  or 
dangerous  fangs.  The  eye  of  the  observer  detects  no  muscular 
contraction,  sees  no  apparent  cause  or  instrument  of  locomotion; 
but  the  microscope,  the  mighty  revealer  of  hidden  wonders,  shows 
him  that  the  innumerable  vibratory  ciliaB  with  which  the  whole 
body  of  the  nemertes  is  covered  cause  it  to  glide  along.  The 
creature  hesitates,  tries  here  and  there,  until  at  last,  and  often 
at  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  it  finds  a  stone  to  its  taste, 
whereupon  it  slowly  unrolls  its  length,  to  convey  itself  to  its  new 
resting-place  or  pasture-ground ;  and  while  the  entangled  folds 
are  unravelling  themselves  at  one  end,  they  form  a  new  gordian- 
knot  at  the  other.  Thus,  in  spite  of  the  extreme  simplicity  of 
its  organisation,  the  band-worm  is  fully  equipped  with  all  the 
means  of  existence,  and  the  eye  of  its  All-seeing  Maker  directs 
it,  though  blind,  to  its  food. 

In  spite  of  their  abject  mode  of  life,  the  intestinal  worms 
must  be  reckoned  in  many  respects  among  the  great  marvels  of 


172  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

creation.  We  wonder  at  the  immense  variety  of  animals  which 
people  the  abounding  land  or  the  teeming  waters ;  but  our 
admiration  at  this  exuberance  of  life  rises  to  a  still  higher 
point,  when  we  consider  that  this  visible  world  of  animated 
beings  encloses  another  world  of  equally  sensitive  creatures,  which 
hidden  from  the  eye  lead  a  parasitic  existence  in  their  intes- 
tinal recesses.  Worms  of  the  most  various  forms  and  sizes  are 
found  within  the  bodies  of  all  vertebrated  animals,  and  even  in 
many  molluscs  and  insects;  and  though  above  1,400  species  have 
already  been  described,  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  far 
greater  number  still  remains  undiscovered,  as  comparatively  but 
few  quadrupeds,  birds,  or  fishes  have  hitherto  been  accurately 
dissected ;  and  as  far  as  our  observation  reaches,  every  genus  or 
even  every  species  of  the  vertebrate  animals  has  been  found  to 
possess  its  own  peculiar  parasitical  worms,  each  of  whom  again 
selects  some  favourite  organ  for  his  abode. 

If  size  alone  were  a  criterion  of  classification,  the  Rotifera 

would  have  to  be  ranked 
among  the  Infusoria,  as 
they  are  scarcely  discern- 
ible by  the  naked  eye ; 
but  a  more  complicated 
organisation  separates 
them  widely  from  these 
lowest  members  of  the 
animal  kingdom,  and  as- 
signs them  a  place  among 
the  worms.  Their  most 
striking  external  charac- 
ter are  the  rotatory  or- 
gans or  ciliary  wheels 
with  which  their  head  is 
surmounted,  and  whose 

Ptygura  melicerta. 

1.  partially  expanded,  2.  completely  expanded,  the  cilia    Vibratory  motions,  whll'l- 
in  action  causing  currents  indicated  by  the  arrows,  3,     •  . ,  -,         ,      . 

contracted.  ing  the   water  about  in 

swift  circles  or  eddies,  engulf  in  a  fatal  vortex  the  micro- 
scopic animals  or  plants  on  which  they  feed,  or  enable  them 
to  swim  from  place  to  place.  The  great  transparency  of  these 
curious  little  animals  permits  their  general  structure  to  be 
easily  recognised.  The  mouth  lies  between  the  wheels,  and 


THE    KOTIFEILE. 


173 


when  once  an  unfortunate  animalcule  has  been  driven  into  its 
gaping  portals,  it  is  presently  crushed  between  a  pair  of  formid- 
able sharp-toothed  jaws,  which  are  constantly  in  motion,  whether 
the  animal  is  taking  food  or  not.  The  aliment,  chewed  .or 
ground  by  this  lively  apparatus,  passes  into  a  slender  canal  or 
tubular  stomach,  surrounded  by  a  cushion-like  mass  of  cells, 
commonly  coloured  with  the  hue  of  the  food,  and  therefore 
concluded  to  be  connected  with  the  digestive  system. 

The  rotifera  are  either  naked,  or  covered  with  a  gelatinous 
or  horny  sheath  ;  and  many  inhabit  a  tube  formed  by  themselves, 
attached  by  its  lower  end  to  some  water- 
plant,  and  open  at  the  summit,  from 
which  the  animal  protrudes  when  it 
would  exercise  its  active  instincts,  and 
into  which  it  retires  for  repose  from 
labour,  or  for  refuge  from  alarm.  The 
majority,  however,  have  a  single  or 
furcated  foot,  which  is  often  capable  of 
contraction  by  a  set  of  telescopic  sheath- 
ings  or  false  joints,  and  by  means  of 
which  they  are  enabled  to  secure  a  hold 
of  the  minute  stems  of  water-plants. 
This  is  their  ordinary  position,  when 
keeping  their  wheels  in  action  for  a 
supply  of  food  or  of  water ;  but  they 
have  no  difficulty  in  letting  go  their 
hold,  and  either  creeping  along  like 
a  leech,  by  alternate  contractions  and 
extensions,  or  swimming  away  in  search 
of  a  new  attachment. 

From  the  neck  projects  a  telescopic 
spur  or  tube  (a),  supposed  to  be  an  organ 
of  respiration ;  and  just  below  this  are 
seen  two  minute  red  specks,  which  are 
the  animal's  eyes — rudimentary  indeed, 
and  probably  endowed  with  no  more  of 
visual  power  than  a  slight  consciousness 
of  the  stimulus  of  light. 

Some  of  the  rotifera  are  inhabitants  of  salt  water  only,  but  by 
far  the  larger  proportion  are  found  in  collections  of  fresh  water 


Philodina  roseola. 
a  respiratory  tube,  b  alimentary 
canal,     d    terminal    intestinal 
pouch,  e  anal  orifice. 


174  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

• — as,  for  instance,  in  the  little  pools  left  after  rain,  in  the  hollows 
of  the  lead  with  which  the  tops  of  houses  are  partly  covered,  or 
in  cisterns  which  are  not  beneath  roofs,  or  otherwise  covered 
over.  Some  species  flourish  attached  to  damp  moss;  others  inhabit 
the  snows  of  the  Alps,  or  the  leaf-cells  of  Sphagnum,  or  the  in- 
testinal tube  of  the  earthworm,  or  even  the  interior  of  the  like- 
wise microscopical  Vol vox  globator,  devouring  the  colonies  that 
form  within  the  cavity  of  its  tiny  globe,  and  replacing  them, 
cuckoo-like,  with  their  own  eggs.  Several  hundred  species  of 
these  interesting  little  animals  have  already  been  discovered,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  existence  of  a  vast  number  of  still 
unknown  forms. 

Their  tenacity  of  life  is  most  remarkable,  for  they  can  be  kept 
in  a  state  of  complete  dryness  for  any  length  of  time,  and  will 
yet  revive  very  speedily  upon  being  moistened.  This  fact,  taken 
in  connection  with  that  extraordinary  rate  of  increase  which 
characterises  all  microscopical  animals  and  plants  (according  to 
the  estimate  of  Professor  Ehrenberg,  nearly  17,000,000  may  be 
produced  within  twenty-four  days  from  a  single  rotifer),  removes 
all  difficulty  in  accounting  for  the  extent  of  their  diffusion,  and 
for  their  occurrence  in  incalculable  numbers  in  situations  where 
a  few  days  previously  none  were  known  to  exist:  for  their  entire 
bodies  may  be  wafted  in  a  dry  state,  by  the  atmosphere,  from 
place  to  place,  and  their  return  to  a  state  of  active  life,  after 
a  desiccation  of  unlimited  duration,  may  take  place  when- 
ever they  meet  with  the  requisite  conditions — moisture,  warmth, 
and  food.  Thus  the  .  insignificant  Eotifera,  the  marvels  of 
whose  organisation  it  requires  the  microscope  to  reveal,  fully 
exemplify  the  truth  of  the  fine  remark  of  Pliny,  that  Nature  is 
nowhere  more  admirable  than  in  her  smallest  productions  ! 


375 


CHAPTEE  XXL 

CRUSTACEANS. 

Cirripedes  —  Barnacles  and  Acorn-shells  —  Edriophthalmia —  Decapoda  —  Their 
Branchial  Apparatus— Legs  and  Digestive  Organs— Moulting  Process — Meta- 
morphoses— Enemies  of  the  Crustaceans — Means  of  Defence,  and  Offensive 
Weapons — The  Birgus — Pinnotheres — Paguri — Migratory  Instinct,  of  the  Land- 
crabs. 


Barnacle, 


As  the  dry  land  teems  with  infinite  forms  of  insects,  so  the  seas, 
from  the  equator  to  the  poles,  are  peopled  with  legions  of  crus- 
taceans. Though  all  constructed  on  the  same  fundamental 
plan,  yet  the  various 
subdivisions  of  this  vast 
and  important  class  differ 
so  much  in  outward  ap- 
pearance, and  their  or- 
ganization is  so  consi- 
derably modified  according  to  their  various  habits,  that  even 
the  eye  of  science  has  been  long  unable  to  distinguish  the  real 
nature  of  several  of  their  lowest  forms. 
Thus  the  Barnacles,  which  frequently 
attach  themselves  in  such  vast  numbers 
to  ships'  bottoms  as  materially  to  ob- 
struct their  way,  and  the  Acorn-shells, 
which  cover  in  scurfy  patches  the  sur- 
face of  exposed  rocks,  often  lining  the 
coast  for  miles  and  miles,  were  formerly 
reckoned  among  the  molluscs,  until  a 
better  knowledge  of  their  early  stages 
of  development  proved  them  to  be  real 
crustaceans,  distant  relations  of  the  crab  or  lobster,  whom  when 
full-grown  they  so  little  resemble. 

While  in  the  first  stage  of  infancy,  these  ambiguous  creatures 


Acorn- shell, 

*a  first  series  of  compartments, 
b  second  series,  c  cirri. 


176  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATUKE. 

lead  the  vagrant  life  of  the  juvenile  oyster  or  adolescent 
sponge,  bounding  nimbly  along  by  the  simultaneous  stroke  of 
their  numerous  legs,  and  possessed  of  open  eyes  to  pilot  their 
course  through  the  waters  ;  but,  when  once  fixed,  they  remain 
attached  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  and  then  their  struc- 
ture undergoes  a  most  remarkable  change.  The  shell  is  gradually, 
formed,  the  eyes  are  cast  away  as  being  no  longer  needed,  and  the 
now  useless  feet  are  converted  into  extremely  useful  arms  or  cirri, 
resembling  a  plume  of  purple  feathers. 
These  cirri  are  constantly  in  motion 
as  long  as  they  are  bathed  in  water, 
projecting  outwards,  and  expanding  into 
an  oval  concave  net — then  retracting 

A  part  of  one  of  the  arms 

considerably  magnified.  inwards,  and  closing  upon  whatever 
may  have  come  within  their  reach.  They  are  so  judiciously 
placed  that  any  small  matter  which  becomes  entangled  within 
them  can  rarely  escape,  and  finds  a  ready  passage  to  the  mouth. 
The  currents  produced  in  the  water  by  their  perpetual  motion  serve 
also  to  aerate  the  blood,  so  that  these  delicate  organs  act  both  as 
gills  and  as  prehensile  arms.  In  spite  of  their  sessile  condition, 
the  Cirripeds,  as  these  curious  animals  are  named,  have  not 
been  left  without  protection  against  hostile  attacks  ;  for  at  the 
approach  of  danger  they  shrink  within  their  shell,  and  close  its 
orifice  against  a  host  of  hungry  intruders.  Living  above  low- 
water-mark,  the  Acorn-shells  are  necessarily  exposed  to  the  air 
for  several  hours  during  the  recess  of  every  tide — a  proof  of  their 
power  to  resist  ungenial  circumstances,  and  of  the  beautiful  har- 
mony of  their  organisation  with  the  mode  of  life  which  has  been 
marked  out  for  them  in  the  plan  of  Creation. 

While  the  Cirripeds  grasp,  as  in  a  living  net,  any  minute 
creatures  that  may  be  roving  withing  their  reach,  the  Siphono- 
stomata  (Fish-lice,  lernese)  lead  a  parasitic  life  chiefly  upon 
fishes,  sucking  their  juices  with  a  bloodthirsty  proboscis.  The 
fish-lice  wander  about  freely  on  the  body  of  their  victims,  as 
grazing  animals  on  their  pasture-grounds ;  while  the  Lerneas, 
after  having,  like  the- barnacles,  led  a  vagrant  life  in  their  first 
youth,  remain  ever  after  clinging  to  the  spot  on  which  they  once 
have  settled. 

Both  are  blind,  and  have  but  an  indistinct  head ;  while  the 


THE   THORACOSTRACA.  177 

numerous  families  and  species  of  the  entomostraca  and  branchio- 
poda,  their  next  superiors  in  rank,  are  generally  well  provided 
with  organs  of  vision. 

Some  of  these  minute  animals,  which  are  generally  active  in 
their  movements,  have  no  special  respiratory  organs,  the  whole' 
tegumentary  surface  being  made  to  supply  their  place  ;  while  in 
others  the  foliaceous  legs  perform  the  office  of  gills,  the  skin  or 
covering  of  these  limbs  being  so  delicate  that  it  admits  the 
vessels  which  ramify  over  it  to  have  sufficient  contact  with  the 
water  to  allow  of  the  perfect  aeration  of  the  blood.  Thus  these 
little  creatures  may  be  said  to  breathe  through  their  legs  and 
arms,  which  may  be  seen  in  constant  motion  playing  through  the 
fluid,  and  causing  a  constant  flow  of  new  particles  to  the  exposed 
surface  of  the  bloodvessels. 

On  a  higher  stage  of  crustacean  life  we  find  the  Edriophthal- 
mia,  whose  thorax  and  abdomen  are  distinctly  composed  of 
articulated  segments,  or  rings,  which  is  not  the  case  in  the 
above-mentioned  orders.  Here  the  legs  no  longer  serve  as 
gills,  but  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  locomotion  ;  certain 
portions  of  the  extremities,  however,  are  modified  in  their 
structure  so  as  to  perform  the  functions  of  respiratory  organs. 
To  this  order  belong,  among  others,  the  nimble  Sand- 
hoppers,  who,  when  disturbed  in  their  privacy, 
bound  into  the  air  by  thousands  from  the  wet 
sea-sand ;  the  Cyami,  or  Whale-lice,  which  fre- 
quently feed  by  thousands  on  the  skin  of  the 
huge  cetaceans ;  and  the  terrestrial  Onisci,  or 
Wood-lice,  which,  generally  leading  a  life  of  sandnopper. 
concealment  under  stones,  in  walls,  in  cellars,  or  in  the  cavities 
of  decaying  trees,  come  forth  from  their  retreat  only  in  wet  and 
moist  weather. 

Thus,  rising  step  by  step,  we  come  at  length  to  the  most  per- 
fect type  of  crustacean  life— to  the  Thoracostraca,  whose  eyes 
are  moveable  and  fixed  on  stalks,  whose  head  and  thorax  are 
covered  with  a  carapace  or  shield,  and  whose  abdomen  only  re- 
tains the  annular  structure. 

This  highest  order  of  the  crustaceans  is  again  subdivided  into 
the  Stomatopoda,  with  external  branchiae  and  feet  approaching 
the  mouth  ;  and  the  Decapoda,  which  are  either  long-tailed,  like 
the  shrimp  or  lobster,  or  short-tailed,  like  the  crab.  In  the 

N 


178  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

Decapoda  the  branchiae  are  enclosed  in  two  chambers,  situated 
one  at  each  side  of  the  under-surface  of  the  carapace  or  broad 
shelly  plate  which  covers  the  back  of  the  animal.  Each  of  these 
chambers  is  provided  with  two  openings — one  in  front  near  the 
jaws,  the  other  behind.  In  the  long-tailed  species  the  posterior 
opening  is  a  wide  slit  at  the  basis  of  the  feet ;  in  the  short-tailed 
kinds  a  small  transverse  aperture,  before  the  first  pair  of  feet.  By 
means  of  this  formation — which,  from  its  limiting  the  amount  of 
evaporation,  prevents  the  drying  of  the  branchiae — the  crabs,  like 
those  fishes  that  are  provided  with  a  narrow  opening  to  their  gill- 
covers,  are  enabled  to  exist  much  longer  out  of  the  water  than 
the  lobsters.  Some  of  them  even  live  habitually  out  of  water ; 
and,  to  fit  them  for  this  terrestrial  life,  their  respiratory  caverns 
are  provided  with  folds  and  lacunae,  capable  of  serving  as  re- 
servoirs of  a  certain  quantity  of  water,  or  with  a  spongy  mem- 
brane equally  well  calculated  to  store  up  the  fluid  necessary  to 
keep  the  organs  of  respiration  in  the  state  of  humidity  neces- 
sary to  enable  them  to  perform  their  functions.  It  is  well 
known,  too,  that  the  land-crabs  never  remove  far  from  damp 
and  shady  situations,  where  the  moisture  of  the  sultry  air  re- 
duces evaporation  to  its  lowest  degree.  While  in  fishes  the 
water  that  serves  for  respiration  flows  from  the  front  backwards, 
so  as  not  to  impede  their  motions,  the  stream  of  water  traversing 
the  gills  of  the  crustaceans  is  made  to  flow  from  behind  forwards, 
and  thus  harmonises  perfectly  with  their  retrograde  or  sidelong 
movements.  So  wonderfully  has  the  anatomical  structure  of 
these  animals,  like  that  of  all  other  living  things,  been  suited  to 
their  peculiar  mode  of  life ! 

The  same  beautiful  adaptation  of  means  to  end  strikes  us  on 
examining  the  locomotive  apparatus  of  the  various  tribes  of 
crustaceans.  Thus  in  the  Grecarcini  or  Land-crabs,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  Ocypoda  or  Sand-crabs,  which  inhabit  the  seashores  of 
warm  climates  in  both  hemispheres,  the  legs  are  extremely  strong 
in  comparison  to  the  weight  of  the  body,  and  consequently  able 
to  carry  it  along  with  great  rapidity.  In  the  burrowing  Hippidae 
they  are  short,  thick,  and  awkward,  but  well  formed  for  work- 
ing in  the  sand,  like  those  of  the  mole.  In  the  Sea-spiders  we 
find  them  extremely  elongated,  so  that  the  animal  swims  badly, 
and  is  a  very  indifferent  pedestrian.  But  its  mode  of  life,  which  is 
strictly  confined  to  the  shallow  waters  of  the  littoral  zone — where, 


SEA-CRABS.  179 

concealed  among  the  seaweeds,  it  wages  war  with  annelides,  pla- 
narias,  and  small  molluscs — requires  no  very  active  movements, 
and  they  answer  admirably  either  as  holdfasts  among  the  cliffs 
and  boulders,  or  for  seizing  their  prey  in  the  deeper  crevices  of 
the  rocks. 

In  the  Portuni  or  true  Sea-crabs,  finally,  we  find  the  hind  pair 
of  legs  flattened  like  oars,  so  that  they  would  cut  but  a  sorry 
figure  on  land,  but  are  all  the  better  able  to  row  about  in  their 
congenial  element. 

The  comparatively  short  and  weak  though  well-formed  legs 
of  the  lobster,  and  of  the  allied  species  of  long-tailed  decapods, 
can  evidently  bear  them  along  bj.it  slowly  when  they  attempt 
to  crawl.  But  the  long  flattened  tail  of  these  animals,  ex- 
panding laterally  like  a  fin,  serves,  by  its  vertical  strokes,  to 
propel  them  so  rapidly  through  the  water  that  the  lobster 
makes  leaps  of  twenty  feet  at  one  single  bound,  and  the 
shrimp  is  seen  to  dart  about  in  its  native  element  with  a 
swiftness  similar  to  that  of  the  gnat  or  dragonfly  in  the  lighter 
atmosphere. 

The  elongated  hind-legs  of  the  sandhoppers,  contracted  while 
at   rest,   enable    them,   when  suddenly   extended,    to  emulate 
the  leap  of  the  flea  or  the  bound  of  the  podura ;  while  the  feet 
of  the  Whale-lice,  or  Cyami,  are  armed  with  power- 
ful  claws,  which  are  evidently  necessary,  to  pre- 
vent their  being  washed  away  during  the    rapid 
evolutions  of  their  enormous  victims.    In  the  terres- 
trial species  of  the  Oniscidse,  popularly  known  by 
the  name  of  Wood-lice,  the  large  number  of  the 
feet  makes  up  for  their  smalmess  ;  in  the  aquatic  Whale  Louse 
or  natatorial  members  of  the  family,  the  last  pair  (°yamu3  Cet1-) 
of  legs  and  the  last  shieldlike  segment  of  the  abdomen  form  a 
large  fin ;  while  the  short  feet  of  the  parasitical  species,  such  as 
the  Bopyrus  Squillarum,  which  passes  its  life  under  the  tail  of 
the  shrimp,  is  provided   with  strong  claws,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  a  firm  attachment  to  their  living  prey. 

The  digestive  apparatus  of  the  crustaceans  is  also  most  ad- 
mirably modified,  according  to  the  respective  wants  of  their 
various  tribes.  Those  which,  in  their  state  of  perfect  growth, 
live  almost  invariably  attached  to  their  prey,  without  executing 
any  other  motions  than  such  as  are  performed  by  the  latter,  are 

N   2 


180  THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

provided  with  a  trunk  or  cylindrical  tube  of  variable  length, 
adapted  for  sucking,  and  in  the  interior  of  which  are  lodged  the 
mandibles,  prolonged  so  much  that  they  form  two  slender 
and  pointed  processes,  the  extremities  of  which  serve  as  a 
lancet.  Thus  these  fortunate  parasites,  who  never  know  what 
it  is  to  want  a  meal,  are  enabled  to  tap  the  vessels  of  their 
victims,  and  to  quaff,  without  any  further  trouble,  the  rich 
juices  they  afford ! 

But  in  the  higher  orders  of  crustaceans,  whose  food  is  gene- 
rally of  a  solid  and  not  easily  digestible  nature,  the  structure  of 
the  oral  apparatus  is  very  different.  The  mouth  is  here  furnished 
with  at  least  eight  pieces  or  pairs  of  jaws,  which  pass  the  food 
through  an  extremely  short  gullet  into  a  membranous  stomach 
of  considerable  size.  This  stomach  is  rendered  curious  by  having 
within  certain  cartilaginous  appendages,  to  which  strong  grinding- 
teeth  are  attached.  These  are  placed  at  the  pyloric  extremity 
or  outlet  of  the  stomach,  so  that  the  aliment,  after  being  sub- 
jected to  the  action  of  the  jaws,  is  again  more  perfectly  chewed 
by  the  stomach-teeth  before  entering  the  digestive  tube,  where 
it  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  th.e  biliary  fluid  of  the  liver.  The 
different  pieces  composing  the  masticatory  apparatus  of  the 
stomach  vary  considerably  in  the  different  genera,  and  even  in 
the  several  species  of  the  same  genus;  but  in  every  case  they  are 
always  singularly  in  harmony  with  the  kind  of  food  taken,  and 
the  general  habits  of  the  animal. 

The  solid  shell  of  the  higher  crustaceans  completely  encases 
their  body  like  a  coat  of  mail.  Unlike  that  of  the  sea-urchins, 
which  is  formed  of  a  multitude  of  small  plates,  constantly  increas- 
ing in  diameter  by  the  deposition  of  fresh  calcareous  matter 
on  their  edges,  and  keeping  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  animal, 
it  consists  but  of  one  piece,  and  is  consequently  incapable  of 
extension.  Thus  the  lobster  or  the  crab,  after  having  once 
attained  their  perfect  form,  would  have  been  obliged  ever  after 
to  endure  the  confinement  of  a  narrow  garb,  had  not  Providence 
endowed  them  with  the  faculty  of  casting  their  shell  from  time 
to  time,  and  thus  providing  themselves  with  a  new  and  more  con- 
venient tegument.  A  few  days  of  fasting  and  sickness  precede 
the  operation,  during  which  the  carapace  becomes  loosened 
from  the  skin  to  which  it  adhered,  and  immediately  begins  to 
secrete  a  new  one — soft  and  membranous  at  first,  but  soon  be- 


CHANGES   OF   THE    LOBSTER.  181 

coming  harder  and  harder,  and  finally  completely  calcareous. 
In  this  way  the  animal  before  long  finds  itself  free  from  all  con- 
nection with  its  old  envelope,  and  it  has  only  to  make  its  escape. 
This  last  operation  is  announced  by  symptoms  of  inquietude. 
The  creature  rubs  its  legs  one  against  the  other,  and  then,  throwing 
itself  upon  its  back,  begins  to  shake  itself,  and  puffs  itself  out  so 
as  to  tear  the  membrane  which  connects  the  carapace  with  th<? 
abdomen,  and  to  raise  the  carapace  itself.  After  sundry  intervals 
of  rest  and  agitation,  of  shorter  or  longer  duration,  the  carapace 
is  raised  completely,  and  the  animal  extricates  its  eyes,  its  head, 
and  its  antennae.  The  operation  of  freeing  its  extremities  ap- 
pears to  be  the  most  difficult,  and  would  even  be  impossible,  did 
not  the  covering  of  these  parts  split  longitudinally.  The  abdo- 
men is  the  last  division  of  the  body  which  clears  itself  of  the  old 
envelope.  It  may  easily  be  supposed  that,  after  such  a  violent  strug- 
gle for  freedom,  the  lobster  is  not  a  little  exhausted.  Feeling  his 
weakness,  and  aware  of  the  very  insufficient  protection  afforded 
him  by  his  soft  covering,  which  requires  a  day  or  two  to  convert 
itself  into  a  firm  calcareous  shelf  similar  to  the  one  which  has 
just  been  cast  off,  he  prudently  retires  from  all  society,  until  he 
feels  himself  able  to  meet  his  old  friends  again  on  terms  of  equar 
lity,  for  he  well  knows  how  inclined  they  are  to  bite  and  devour 
a  defenceless  comrade. 

Like  the  sea-stars,  the  crabs  and  lobsters  enjoy  the  faculty 
not  only  of  reproducing  limbs  accidentally  lost,  but  also  of  volun- 
tarily casting  off  not  only  their  legs  but  even  their  heavy  claws, 
when  under  the  influence  of  terror.  This  curious  process  of 
self-amputation  seems  to  be  effected  very  easily,  and  without 
apparent  pain,  as  they  run  off  upon  their  remaining  legs  as  if 
'nothing  had  happened.  The  separation  is  soon  followed  by  the 
formation  of  a  cicatrice,  from  the  surface  of  which  sprouts  out 
a  small  cylindrical  appendage  ;  this  shortly  after  presents  dis- 
tinct articulations,  and  resembles,  in  miniature,  the  organ  it  is 
destined  to  form ;  but  its  growth  is  slow,  and  it  does  not  for 
some  time  attain  its  full  size,  and  thus  specimens  are  fre- 
quently met  with  having  one  forceps  much  larger  than  the 
other. 

It  is  evident  how  important  this  power  of  reproduction  and 
self-amputation  must  be  to  animals  whose  fragile  limbs  are  so 
liable  to  be  snapped  off  by  an  enemy,  and  how  greatly  they  must 


182  THE   HAEMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

be  indebted  to  this  invaluable  privilege,  which  frequently  enables 
them  to  save  the  whole  by  the  temporary  sacrifice  of  a  part. 
Here  also  the  wind  is  tempered  to  the  shorn  lamb ! 

The  wonderful  metamorphoses  of  the  insects  are  universally 
known,  but  the  changes  which  the  young  crabs,  lobsters,  prawns, 
and  shrimps  have  to  undergo,  before  they  assume  their  definitive 
shape,  are  no  less  astonishing  ;  for  the  forms  of  these  larvaB  are  so 
peculiar,  and  so  entirely  different  from  any  of  those  into  which 
they  are  ultimately  to  be  developed,  that  they  were  considered 
as  belonging  to  a  distinct  genus,  Zoea,  until  their  real  nature 

was  first  ascertained  by  Mr.  T.  V. 
Thompson.  These  infant  crabs  look 
very  strange  indeed.  Fancy  a  prepos- 
terously large  helmet-shaped  head, 
ending  behind  in  a  long  point,  and 
furnished  in  front  with  two  monstrous 
sessile  eyes'  like  the  windows  of  a  lan- 
tern. By  means  of  a  long  articulated 
tail,  the  restless  chimera  continually 
Larva  of  dab.  turns  head  over  heels.  Claws  are 

wanting,  and  while  the  old  crabs  crawl  about  on  eight  legs,  the 
young  have  only  four,  armed  at  the  extremity  with  four  long- 
bristles,  that  are  continually  pushing  food  towards  the  ciliated 
and  ever-active  mouth.  Who  could  imagine  that  a  creature 
like  this  should  ever  change  into  a  crab,  to  which  it  has  not  the 
least  resemblance  ?  But  time  does  wonders.  After  the  first 
change  of  skin,  the  body  assumes  something  like  its  perma- 
nent shape,  the  eyes  become  stalked,  the  claws  are  developed, 
and  the.  legs  resemble  those  of  the  crab ;  but  the  change  is 
incomplete,  for  the  tail  is  .still  longhand  furnished  with  false' 
feet,  like  that  of  a  lobster.  The  swimming-habit  has  not  yet 
been  laid  aside.  At  the  next  stage,  while  the  little  creature  is 
still  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  the  crab-form  is 
completed,  the  abdomen  folding  in  under  the  carapace.  All 
the  subsequent  changes  are  merely  changes  of  coat,  consequent 
on  the  growth  of  the  now  complete  animal. 

In  these  several  metamorphoses  we  see  portrayed  in  succes- 
sion the  peculiarities  of  three  different  types,  one  rising  above 
the  other  in  structure.  In  the  first  the  crab  is  like  one  of  the 
lowest  and  most  incomplete  crustaceans ;  further  on  it  resembles 


RANGE   OF   THE   CRUSTACEANS  183 

the  lobster,  and  at  last  it  appears  in  the  compact  shape  which 
constitutes  the  highest  perfection  of  crustacean  life. 

Providence  has  ordained  that  each  class  of  animals  should  not 
only  branch  out  into  a  multiplicity  of  forms,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
adapt  itself  to  an  immense  diversity  of  local  circumstances,  but 
also  that  it  should  spread  itself  as  far  as  possible  over  the  surface 
of  the  globe. 

Thus,  though  the  crustaceans  have  their  chief  seat  in  the 
ocean  and  its  littoral  zone,  yet  several  of  their  species  ascend 
into  the  regions  of  eternal  snow,  while  others  hide  themselves  in 
the  perpetual  darkness  of  subterranean  grottoes.  The  famous 
cave  of  Adelsberg  in  Carinthia  is  tenanted  by  several  crustaceans, 
and  the  alpine-flea  is  found  on  the  Aar-glacier,  8,500  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean. 

Many  crustaceans,  averse  to  the  briny  sea,  delight  in  the 
sweet  waters  of  the  river  or  the  lake ;  others,  finding  not  even 
sea-water  salt  enough  to  their  taste,  can  only  enjoy  existence  in 
saline  springs ;  while  others  again  entirely  abandon  the  liquid 
element  and  live  on  the  dry  land,  either  sojourning,  like  our 
wood-lice,  under  stones  and  in  cellars,  or,  like  the  land-crabs  of 
the  West  Indies,  in  shady  forests,  where  though  they  breathe,  like 
their  aquatic  relations,  through  the  medium  of  gills,  the  peculiar 
construction  of  their  respiratory  organs  and  the  perpetual  mois- 
ture of  the  climate  render  their  existence  possible. 

While  myriads  of  crabs  people  the  slimy  lagunes,  or  burrow 
in  the  sands  skirting  the  ocean,  or  seek  a  shelter  among  the 
fronds  of  submarine  forests,  others  love  to  sojourn  in  the  deeper 
waters,  or  even  to  perform  long  sea-voyages,  like  the  Nautilo- 
grapsus,  which,  though  ill-formed  for  swimming,  finds  means 
to  satisfy  its  roving  propensities  by  clinging  to  the  back  of  a 
turtle. 

While  the  lower  crustaceans  abound  in  the  Polar  seas,  crabs 
are  completely  wanting  in  those  gelid  waters :  their  number 
increases  on  advancing  towards  the  equator,  and  attains  its 
maximum  in  the  torrid  zone.  Here  we  find  the  most  remark- 
able and  various  forms ;  here  they  attain  a  size  unknown  in  our 
seas ;  and  here  they  do  not,  as  with  us,  inhabit  the  salt  waters 
only,  but  also  people  the  brooks  and  rivers,  or  even  constantly 
sojourn  on  land. 

With  the  exception  of  the  terrestrial  Onisci,  which  chiefly 


184  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

feed  on  decaying  vegetable  matter,  of  the  Birgus  or  robber-crab, 
which  delights  in  the  sweet  kernel  of  the  cocoanut,  of  the 
water-fleas,  which  feast  on  the  tender  fronds  of  the  green  sea- 
weeds, arid  of  a  few  other  species,  the  crustaceans  are  eminently 
carnivorous.  Their  amazing  numbers,  their  voracity,  their 
powerful  claws  render  them  the  most  formidable  enemies  both 
of  the  weaker  among  their  own  class  and  of  all  the  lower  aquatic 
animals.  Even  the  fishes  and  cetaceans  are  not  exempt  from 
their  attacks  ;  and  as  the  whale,  the  carp,  the  sturgeon,  the 
shark,  the  perch  have  each  of  them  their  peculiar  crustacean 
parasites,  it  can  easily  be  imagined  how  large  the  number  of  the 
still  unknown  species  must  be  which  feast  on  tha,t  vast  host  of 
fishes  that  has  never  yet  been  accurately  examined.  Some  bore 
or  eat  holes  into  the  skin  of  their  victims,  others  fasten  on  their 
gills,  and  many  settle  in  their  entrails ;  where,  no  doubt,  they 
lead  a  more  pleasant  life  than  that  which,  through  their  agency, 
falls  to  the  share  of  their  involuntary  entertainers. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  crustaceans  constitute  a  great  part  of 
the  food  as  well  of  the  sea-stars,  sea-urchins,  annelides,  and 
many  of  the  molluscs,  as  also  of  the  fishes  and  sea-birds  ;  and  as 
they  are  found  of  all  sizes,  from  microscopical  smallness  to  a 
weight  of  several  pounds,  they  are  able  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  a 
great  variety  of  animals. 

Man  also  is  indebted  to  the  crustaceans  for  many  a  savoury 
morsel;  and  while  the  Europeans  enjoy  their  lobsters,  crayfish, 
and  shrimps,  the  islanders  of  the  torrid  zone  not  only  feed  upon 
many  marine  crustaceans,  but  also  upon  the  fat  of  the  long- 
tailed  Birgus  and  the  white  flesh  of  the  land-crab.  The  injuries 
inflicted  upon  mankind  by  the  crustaceans  are  certainly  inferior 
to  their  services,  though  several  species  (Chelura  terebrans, 
Limnoria  terebrans)  are  great  destroyers  of  submerged  timber, 
and  others  are  said  to  be  poisonous. 

A  carnivorous  race  exposed  to  so  many  persecutions  necessarily 
requires  to  be  well  furnished  with  the  means  of  attack  and  defence. 
Thus  in  all  the  higher  crustaceans  we  find,  with  rare  exceptions, 
the  anterior  thoracic  extremities  terminating  in  pincers  of  greater 
or  less  strength,  armed  with  teeth  and  sharp  hooks  which  give 
them  increased  powers  of  prehension.  Generally  only  the  first 
pair  of  legs  is  converted  into  these  formidable  weapons,  but  in 
the  crayfish  the  second  and  third  pair  of  feet  are  likewise  pro- 


SEA-SPIDERS.  185 

vided  with  smaller  pincers,  as  a  kind  of  reserve,  in  case  the  first 

pair  should  be  rendered  unserviceable  ;  and 

in  the  Dromise  we  find  the  two  posterior 

pairs  of  legs,  which  are  of  a  much  smaller 

size  and  raised  above  the  plane  of  the  others, 

similarly  armed.      These  posterior  claws, 

however,  are  not  intended  for  active  war- 

fare,  but  merely  for  strategical  purposes,  as 

they  serve  to  hold  fast  the  pieces  of  sponge  or  other  marine 

productions  under  whose  cover  the  wily  crustacean  approaches 

and  entraps  his  prey. 

A  singular  Tahitian  crab  observed  by  Mr.  Bennett  makes  use 
of  a  similar  artifice;  but  in  this  case  the  mask  of  decayed 
vegetable  substances  and  coral  sand,  which  enables  the  lurking 
ruffian  to  steal  upon  his  victims  unperceived,  is  not  kept  in  its 
position  by  the  hind-legs,  but  by  the  rigid  and  incurved  bristles 
with  which  the  back  is  covered.  In  these  manoeuvres  he  is  very 
much  assisted  by  the  long  ophthalmic  peduncles,  which,  curving 
upward  to  raise  the  eyes  above  the  pile  of  materials,  give  him 
the  great  advantage  of  seeing  without  being  seen. 

The  sea-spiders  do  not  indeed  load  themselves  with  a  volun- 
tary burden,  which  they  are  able  to  cast  off  again  at  pleasure, 
but  their  back  is  generally  clothed  with  a  mass  of  parasites, 
corallines,  sponges,  zoophytes,  algae  or  molluscs,  so  that  the 
poor  creatures  have  frequently  to  groan  under  a  considerable 
weight.  To  this,  however,  they  are  no  doubt  in  many  cases 
indebted  for  their  lives,  as  even  a  sharp-sighted  enemy  can 
hardly  detect  them  under  the  mound  of  plants  and  small 
animals  comfortably  settled  on  their  carapace.  Besides  the 
strong  and  heavy  pincers  with  which  the  forefeet  of  the  Birgus- 
latro  are  armed,  this  large  tropical  shore-crab  has,  like  the 
Dromiae,  its  last  pair  of  legs  terminated  by  narrow  and  weak 
claws,  which,  however,  it  puts  to  a  very  different  use,  for,  living 
on  the  fruits  of  the  cocoanut-tree,  it  requires  no  mask  or  artifice 
to  surprise  its  prey.  After  having  selected  a  nut  fit  for  its  dinner, 
the  crab  begins  its  operations  by  tearing  the  husk,  fibre  by  fibre, 
from  that  end  under  which  the  three  eyeholes  are  situated ;  it 
then  hammers  upon  one  of  them  with  its  heavy  claws  until  an 
opening  is  made.  Hereupon  it  turns  round,  and  by  the  aid  of 
its  posterior  pincers  extracts  the  white  albuminous  substance. 


186  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

In  this  wonderful  instance  of  animal  instinct,  one  knows  not 
what  is  most  to  be  admired — the  beautiful  adaptation  of  the 
animal's  structure  to  its  peculiar  mode  of  life,  or  its  almost 
incredible  ingenuity. 

The  crustaceans  have  various  modes  of  escaping  the  attacks 
of  an  over-powerful  enemy.  Some,  like  the  shrimp  or  the  lob- 
ster, bound  rapidly  through  the  waters ;  others,  as  we  have  seen, 
are  excellent  runners  on  the  land.  Many  form  deep  burrows, 
into  which  they  retire  at  the  first  alarm  ;  others  hide  themselves 
quickly  under  boulders  or  tufts  of  algae,  to  avoid  a  disagreeable 
meeting  with  a  voracious  fish  or  hungry  kinsman.  Some  feign 
death,  contracting  their  claws,  and  allowing  themselves  to  be 
thrown  about  like  inert  bodies  ;  others,  like  the  small  pea-crab, 
claim  the  hospitality  of  large  bivalve  shells,  as  a  substitute  for 
the  softness  of  their  own  integuments.  In  this  safe  retreat 
they  live  upon  the  minute  animals  which  their  involuntary 
protector  engulphs  on  opening  his  folding-doors ;  for  it  is  of 
course  but  a  poetical  fiction  that  a  friendly  connection  exists 
between  them — that  the  mussel  is  warned  of  the  approach  of  in- 
quisitive cuttlefishes,  or  prying  sea-stars,  by  a  gentle  pinch  of 
his  little  lodger — and  that  the  latter,  when  after  an  excursion  he 
finds  the  premises  closed,  has  only  to  knock  to  be  again  ad- 
mitted ! 

Another  large  family  of  crabs  is  likewise  indebted  for 
a  dwelling  to  another  and  a  lower  class  of  animals.  The 
hermit-crabs  or  paguri  have,  indeed,  the  forepart  of  their 
body  armed  with  stout  claws  and  covered  with  a  shield, 
but  terminate  in  a  long,  soft,  and  utterly  defenceless  tail.  This 
cumbersome  and  exposed  hind-part  is  not  formed  for  swim- 
ming, and  its  weight  prevents  them  from  running,  so  that 
nothing  remains  for  the  poor  creatures  but  to  look  about  them 
for  some  shelter  ;  and  this  is  afforded  by  several  conchi- 
form  shells — buccina,  neritse — in  which  they  take  up  their 
abode,  attaching  themselves  to  their  interior  by  a  sucker  with 
which  the  tail  is  furnished  at  its  extremity,  and  also  holding  by 
the  six  false  legs  which  they  bear  at  their  hinder  portion. 
When  they  are  feeding  or  walking,  the  head  and  thorax  project 
beyond  the  mouth  of  the  shell ;  but  when  they  are  alarmed  they 
draw  themselves  in,  closing  the  mouth  with  one  of  the  claws, 
which  is  much  larger  than  the  other,  and  fits  the  opening  of 


THE   PAGURI.  187 

the  shell  as  exactly  as  the  lid  or  operculum  of  its  original  pos- 
sessor. It  is  surprising  how  rapidly  they  will  rim  about  with 
the  dwelling  they  have  appropriated  on  their  back ;  and  when 
by  the  progress  of  their  growth  it  becomes  uncomfortably 
narrow,  the  remedy  is  easy,  as  convenient  shells  abound 
wherever  hermit-crabs  exist. 

Thus  we  find  a  wonderful  harmony  between  the  organization 
of  the  paguri  and  the  structure  of  the  alien  domicile  to  which 
they  owe  their  safety,  and  which  serves  to  complete  their  exist- 
ence. Evidently  the  same  creative  idea  has  given  birth  to  the 
mollusc  and  the  crab,  for  how  could  mere  fortuitous  circum- 
stances have  produced  so  marvellous  a  relation  between  animals 
belonging  to  two  classes  so  widely  distinct  ? 

In  point  of  intelligence  the  crustaceans  are  far  inferior  to  the 
insects.  Their  instincts  are  confined  to  the  violent  seizure  or 
the  cunning  entrapping  of  their  prey,  to  the  burrowing  of  a 
hole  in  the  ground,  or  to  the  seeking  of  a  shell  fit  for  the  con- 
cealment of  their  otherwise  defenceless  body :  in  them  we  find 
no  care  for  their  young,  no  mutual  affection,  no  joint  labours 
for  the  welfare  of  a  large  community,  no  love — but  frequent  out- 
bursts of  an  angry  and  quarrelsome  temper. 

The  land-crabs,  however,  afford  us  a  remarkable  instance 
of  that  wonderful  migratory  instinct  which  in  the  following 
chapters  we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  admire.  These 
animals  generally  spend  their  days  in  holes  and  cavities 
among  the  mountains  ;  but  when  the  season  for  spawning 
arrives,  vast  armies  of  them  set  out  from  the  hills,  marching  in 
a  direct  line  towards  the  sea-shore,  for  the  purpose  of  depositing 
their  eggs,  which  are  attached  to  the  lower  surface  of  the  abdo- 
men and  are  washed  off  by  the  surf.  On  this  grand  expedition 
they  pursue  so  direct  a  line  to  the  place  of  their  destination 
that  scarcely  anything  will  divert  their  course ;  even  the  most 
formidable  obstacles  are  overcome  by  their  unyielding  perse- 
verance. When  they  have  effected  the  purpose  for  which  they 
undertook  their  journey,  they  recommence  their  toilsome  march 
to  their  upland  retreats.  They  set  out  after  nightfall,  and 
steadily  advance  until  the  approach  of  daylight  warns  them  to 
seek  concealment  in  the  inequalities  of  the  ground,  or  among 
any  kind  of  rubbish,  where  they  lie  ensconced  until  the  stars 
again  invite  them  to  pursue  their  undeviating  course.  Of  the 


188  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

thousands  that  originally  left  the  damp  forest-grounds,  com- 
paratively but  a  small  number  return,  emaciated  and  exhausted, 
to  their  mountain-burrows,  and  a  few  weeks  after,  millions  of 
the  little  crabs  which  have  been  hatched  on  the  shore  may  be 
seen  making  their  way  up  to  the  hills.  Who  can  explain  to  us 
the  mysterious  voice  which  prompts  them  to  seek  an  unknown 
home,  so  different  from  the  scene  where  they  first  drew  breath ; 
who  tells  them  that  far  from  the  torrid  shore  they  are  sure  to 
find  a  more  congenial  retreat  in  the  cool  shades  of  the  forest ; 
and  who,  throughout  countless  years,  directs  these  constant  mi- 
grations from  the  sea  to  the  uplands,  and  then  again  from  the 
mountains  to  the  brink  of  the  ocean  ? 


189 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

INSECTS. 

Their  Integuments — Their  Metamorphoses — Larvae — Pupse — Perfect  Insects- 
Antennae — Eyes — Masticatory  Organs — Chewing  and  Sucking  Insects— Digestive 
Organs  of  the  Carnivorous  and  Herbivorous  Insects — Motions  of  Insects — • 
Elateridse— Aquatic  Insects — Foot  of  the  Fly — Wings — Respiratory  Organs — 
Tracheae  and  Stigmata — The  Butterfly's  Wing  under  the  Microscope — Defences 
of  Insects — Vitality — Concealments — The  Caddice  Fly — The  Small  Ermine  Moth 
— The  Clothes  Moth — Hunting  Manoeuvres  of  the  Mantis — The  Ant  Lion — The 
Larva  of  the  Tiger  Beetle — Insect  Plagues — Insects  Useful  to  Man — Their 
Numberless  Enemies — Their  Wonderful  Instincts — Care  for  their  Young — The 
Rhynchites  Betulae  —  Dung  and  Sexton  Beetles — Their  Remarkable  Intelli- 
gence— The  Sand  Wasp — Ichneumon  Flies — Breeze  Flies — The  Earwig — The 
Mole  Cricket — The  Dirt  Dauber  and  Trypoxylon — The  Leaf  Cutters — The 
Carpenter  Bee — The  Chartergus  Nidulans— The  Hive  Bee — The  Ants  and  Ter- 
mites. 

THOUGH  small  in  size,  the  Insects  are  great,  by  their  infinite 
varieties  of  form,  their  prodigious  numbers,  their  wonderful 
organization,  their  astonishing  metamorphoses,  and  their  truly 
marvellous  instincts.  From  whatever  point  of  view  we  may 
consider  them,  they  constantly  afford  new  subjects  of  admira- 
tion and  delight ;  for  all  that  is  either  beautiful  and  graceful, 
interesting  and  alluring,  or  curious  and  singular  in  every  other 
class  and"  order  of  the  animal  world  has  been  combined  and 
concentrated  in  these  miniature  masterpieces  of  Nature,  a 
glimpse  into  whose  economy  opens  to  every  reflective  mind  the 
portals  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  plainly  reveals  the  Deity  who 
called  them  into  life. 

A  thick  and  weighty  harness  of  chalk,  like  that  of  the  crus- 
taceans, would  have  been  far  too  cumbersome  for  delicate  and 
tiny  creatures,  generally  destined  for  rapid  motions;  and  thus  we 
find  the  insects  covered  with  a  thin  vestment  of  incorruptible 
chitine,  a  hornlike  substance  equally  light  and  strong,  which, 
without  considerably  adding  to  their  weight,  answers  every 


190  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 

purpose  of  protection,  and,  shaped  into  myriads  of  graceful 
forms,  frequently  glows  with  the  most  vivid  colours.  A  robe 
more  beautiful  and  appropriate  than  this  cannot  possibly  be 
imagined. 

A  closer  examination  of  the  insect-skeleton  shows  us  that  it 
consists  of  a  number  of  rings  or  segments,  either  distinct  or 
soldered  together,  and  forming  three  principal  parts — the  head, 
the  breast  or  thorax,  and  the  abdomen.  The  head,  which  has 
generally  the  form  of  a  hollow  globe,  is  the  product  of  at  least 
three  segments  moulded  into  one,  and  contains  the  organs  of 
mastication,  the  antennae,  and  the  eyes ;  the  thorax  invariably 
consists  of  three  rings  or  segments,  and  bears  the  single  or  double 
pair  of  wings  which  most  of  the  perfect  insects  possess,  as  well 
as  the  three  pair  of  feet  with  which  all  of  them  are  furnished  ; 
the  abdomen,  finally,  is  formed  of  a  larger  number  of  distinct 
segments,  freely  moveable  one  above  the  other. 

Such  is  the  ground-plan  according  to  which  the  skeleton  of 
all  insects  is  constructed,  but  their  forms  are  varied  to  answer 
an  infinite  variety  of  wants :  for  the  insects  gnaw  and  devour 
all  organic  substances  without  exception ;  they  feed  upon  the 
whole  vegetable  kingdom,  from  the  palm  to  the  lichen,  and 
from  the  hardest  root  to  the  most  delicate  blossom.  They 
are  not  only  at  perpetual  feud  among  themselves,  but  engaged 
in  constant  war  with  the  higher  animals ;  they  inhabit  every 
climate ;  they  select  every  conceivable  dwelling-place,  from  the 
caverns  of  the  subterranean  world  to  the  pinnacles  of  the  Alps ; 
and  thus  we  can  conceive  the  endless  varieties  of  structure, 
of  instruments,  and  weapons  which  the  immense  range  of 
their  existence  naturally  requires. 

More  than  one  hundred  thousand  different  species  of  insects 
have  already  been  described  by  entomologists,  and  each  of  them 
is  distinguished  from  its  nearest  relations  by  some  modification 
of  structure  best  adapted  to  its  peculiar  sphere  of  life.  The 
most  retentive  memory  would  be  utterly  unable  to  embrace 
this  amazing  variety  of  forms ;  and  yet  a  vast  number  of  insects 
is  still  utterly  unknown,  and  their  countless  legions  constitute 
but  a  part  of  the  animated  beings  that  people  our  little  earth 
— itself  but  a  speck  in  the  boundless  universe !  How  wondrous 
are  the  works  of  the  Creator — how  beyond  all  human  conception 
His  wisdom  and  His  power ! 


METAMORPHOSES   OF   INSECTS. 


191 


The  immense  gallery  of  insect  life  swells  into  still  grander 
proportions  when  we  reflect  that  each  insect  passes  through 
several  metamorphoses  or  stages  of  development  before  it 
assumes  its  perfect  form,  exhibiting  as  it  were  several  distinct 
beings  during  the  course  of  its  existence.  At  first  it  issues  from 
the  egg  either  as  a  head-and-footless  maggot  (a\  or  provided  with 
a  head  and  six  thoracic  legs  like  a  true  larva  (6),  or  possessing  a 
still  larger  number  of  feet  like  a  caterpillar  (c).  A  boundless  appe- 
tite, an  insatiable  voracity  characterise  this  first  juvenile  age  of 
insect  life.  Thus,  to  mention  but  one  instance,  the  silk  worm,  which 
at  its  birth  weighs  but  the  hundredth  part  of  a  grain,  devours 
in  thirty  days  more  than  an  ounce  of  leaves,  sixty  thousand 
times  more  than  its  original  weight !  According  to  this  mea- 


Maggot  of  Hornet. 


Larva  of  Calosoma 
sycophanta. 


Apple  Moth,  with  the 

Caterpillar  and 

ChrysaLi?. 


sure  a  child,  which  when  born  weighs  about  ten  pounds,  would 
consume  during  the  same  period  no  less  than  6,000  hundred- 
weight of  food,  to  the  amazement  and  terror  of  its  parents.  No 
wonder  that  so  vast  a  supply  of  aliment  produces  a  rapid  growth, 
and  that,  during  the  thirty  days  of  her  existence  the  silkworm 
larva  increases  9,500  times  in  weight ;  no  wonder  also  that  she 
soon  feels  her  dress  too  narrow,  and  more  than  once  sheds  her 
skin  to  provide  room  for  the  swelling  proportions  of  her  body ! 
But  now  a  period  of  inactivity  succeeds,  and,  generally  after  the 
fifth  shedding  of  her  skin,  a  great  change  takes  place  in  the 


192 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE, 


habits  of  the  gormandizing  larva.  A  total  want  of  appetite 
succeds  her  voracious  hunger,  she  seems  to  loathe  the  succulent 
leaf  on  which  she  had  feasted,  and  seeks  a  quiet  retreat  to 
undergo  her  next  transformation. 

In  the  pupa  state  she  now  does  penance  for  her  previous  ex- 
cesses, and,  like  an  Indian  fakir,  remains  in  a  motionless  con- 
dition. Frequently  the  skin  she  last  has  shed, 
forms  a  dry  and  shrivelled  covering  in  which 
she  remains  encased,  or  she  spins  for  herself  a 
silken  dwelling  in  which  she  awaits  her  trans- 
formation, or  prepares  a  little  cavity  in  the 
earth  and  lines  it  with  silk  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, or  suspends  herself  from  the  under- 
surface  of  a  leaf.  But  during  this  period 
of  apparent  rest,  this  total  seclusion  from 
the  outer  world,  the  greatest  activity  prevails 
within  ;  all  the  organs  needed  by  the  perfect 
insect  are  developed,  and  when  their  formation 
is  completed,  she  bursts  her  bonds,  and,  armed 
with  wings,  emerges  to  the  light  of  day  as  a 

Nymph  or  Pupa  state  »  >  a         a. 

of  Homet  (magnified).  ]ustrous    beetle  or   as   a  gay    butterfly — the 

symbol  of  immortality. 
But  the  changes  of  form  in  passing  from  one  state  to  another 

are  not  in  all  instances  so  complete :  frequently  the  larva  bears 

a  more  or  less  close  resem- 
blance to  the  perfect  insect ; 
and  many  pupae  continue  to 
feed,  or  to  move  about,  or  ex- 
hibit rudiments  of  wings,  when 
winged  in  the  perfect  state. 
This  incomplete  metamorpho- 
sis, confined  to  repeated  shed- 
dings  of  the  skin,  takes  place 
for  instance  with  the  dragon- 
fly, the  grasshopper,  and  the 
cockroach  ;  while  a  complete 
transformation  characterises 

"the  beetles,  the  butterflies,  the  flies,  ants,  wasps,  and  bees. 
The  perfect  insect  ceases  to  grow ;  its  appetite  is  moderate, 

or  even  totally  fails.     Its  chief  care  is  the  preservation  of  its 


The  Hornet.    (Vespa  crabro.) 


USES    OF   THE    ANTENNAE.  193 

species,  and  after  having  laid  its  eggs  it  generally  lies  down 
and  dies. 

The  jointed  antennae  of  the  innumerable  insect  tribes  exhibit 
a  wonderful  diversity  of  form ;  now  drawn  out  into  a  thread, 
and  now  ending  in  a  knob — now  pectinated  like  a  comb,  and  now 
expanding  like  a  fan.  We  find  them  smooth  or  hairy,  simple 
or  divided  into  branches,  projecting  or  recurved — sometimes 
short,  sometimes  of  a  length  far  surpassing  that  of  the  body. 
When  the  insect  is  in  motion,  they  are  stretched  out  and  ex- 
panded to  their  fullest  extent;  but  by  many  species  they  are  im- 
mediately retracted  on  the  occurrence  of  any  loud  or  sudden  noise 
— and  then  there  is  in  many  cases  a  channel  or  groove  ready  to 
receive,  to  hide,  and  to  protect  them  against  many  injuries. 

That  organs  so  beautifully  constructed  and  so  carefully  pro- 
vided for,  must  necessarily  be  of  the  highest  importance,  is 
evident ;  but  strange  to  say,  their  use  has  not  yet  been  fully 
ascertained.  The  late  Professor  Erichson  of  Berlin  discovered 
their  solid  case  to  be  perforated  by  a  number  of  little  holes  lined 
internally  with  a  delicate  membrane;  and  as  the  air  can  thus 
easily  penetrate  into  their  cavity,  this  distinguished  entomologist 
considered  their  function  to  be  that  of  smelling.  Others,  again, 
are  of  opinion  that  they  are  auditory  organs,  and  in  many  cases 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  office  is  that  of  touching  or 
feeling  other  objects.  Thus  the  honey-bee  when  constructing 
its  cells  ascertains  their  proper  direction  and  size  by  means  of 
the  extremities  of  its  antennaB,  while  the  same  insect,  when 
evidently  affected  by  sounds,  keeps  them  motionless  in  one 
direction  as  if  in  the  act  of  listening. 

Wherever  the  sense  of  smelling  in  insects  may  reside,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  its  exquisite  acuteness,  particularly  in  those  species 
that  live  on  decayed  or  putrid  animal  substances,  and  occupy  a 
high  rank  among  the  scavengers  of  Nature.  Scarcely  does  a  sub- 
stance answering  their  wants  drop  to  the  ground,  than  the  dung- 
beeties  are  seen  hurrying  along  from  distances  proportionally 
as  remarkable  as  the  vast  spaces  measured  by  the  vulture's  eye. 
A  loud  and  joyous  hum  accompanies  their  active  flight,  which 
in  strength  and  duration,  surpasses  that  of  all  other  beetles,  and 
materially  assists  them  in  the  performance  of  their  useful  labours. 

Sir  Emerson  Tennent  was  once  present  at  the  death  of  an 
elephant,  and  saw  how  the  flies,  of  which  not  one  was  visible 


194 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


but  a  moment  before,  arrived  in  clouds  and  blackened  the 
body  by  their  multitude :  scarcely  an  instant  was  allowed  to 
elapse  for  the  commencement  of  decomposition,  no  odour  of 
putrefaction  could  be  discerned ;  yet  some  peculiar  smell  of 
mortality,  instantly  spreading  to  a  distance,  must  have  struck 
the  sharp  scent  of  the  insects  and  summoned  them  to  the  feast. 

The  sense  of  smelling  is  no  less 
acute  in  the  ants.  When  in  a 
tropical  climate — where,  as  is 
well  known,  these  active  little 
creatures  chiefly  abound — a  small 
piece  of  sugar  covered  with  pa- 
per is  placed  in  the  centre  of 
a  table,  not  many  minutes  will 
elapse  before  a  troop  of  ants  is 
seen  to  approach,  and  to  form 
a  long  line  in  order  to  convey 
the  booty  in  safety  to  the  floor  of 
the  room.  The  sense  of  smell- 
ing can  have  been  their  only 
guide  to  a  substance  which  to  our 
grosser  olfactory  nerves  seems 
but  faintly  scented  even  at  a 
short  distance.  While  nothing 
positive  is  known  about  the  or- 
gans which  are  the  seat  of  this 
remarkable  faculty,  the  eyes  of 

A.  Section  of  eye  of  Cockchafer.  insects     Strike     US     at      OnCe     by 

B.  Section  of  eye  of  Dragonfly.  .  . 

c.  section  of  the  same  still  more  magm- their  large  size  and    brilliancy. 

c  facets,    6  external  convex  surfaces,    d  base,  They      do      not      tlim      in       their 
a  anterior  chamber  between  facet  and -iris,  i      ,  1-1  nnvo        >,,,+        +V>i'o 

e   pupillary  aperture,   /  cones  filled  with  SOCKCtS        IIKC       GUIS,       DUt       tniS 

want  of  motion  is  amply  com- 
pensated for  by  their  amazing  number;  for  the  microscope 
teaches  us  that  they  are  not  simple  like  ours,  but  composed  of 
a  multitude  of  distinct  organs  of  vision,  divided  from  each  other 
by  interstices  covered  with  a  dark  pigment,  and  converging  to  the 
centre  of  the  eye,  each  possessing  its  separate  cornea,  and  each 
provided  with  a  separate  filament  of  the  optic  nerve.  Exter- 
nally they  form  a  network  of  transparent  facets,  generally  of 
an  hexagonal  shape,  which  by  the  refraction  of  the  light  produce 


THE   EYES   OF  INSECTS.  195 

the  peculiar  satin-like  lustre  of  the  insect's  eye.  Their  number 
is  almost  incredible,  for  in  the  domestic  fly  there  have 
been  reckoned  4,900,  in  the  cockchafer  6,300,  and  in  some 
butterflies  no  less  than  60,000  eyes,  each  receiving  its  separate 
ray  of  light  and  transmitting  the  impression  to  the  brain ! 

The  use  of  this  compound  structure  of  the  organs  of  vision  is 
evident,  for  had  the  eye  of  the  insect  been  simple  as  ours,  it 
would  have  required  a  large  number  of  muscles,  occupying  a 
considerable  space  and  adding  greatly  to  the  weight  of  the 
head,  to  turn  it  in  its  socket,  and  a  constant  attention  and 
change  of  position  to  protect  its  owner  from  the  manifold 
dangers  to  which  he  is  exposed ;  while  now,  with  its  thousands 
of  eyes  collected  into  two  prominent  and  immoveable  groups,  and 
economizing  both  space  and  labour,  the  insect  without  any  effort 
constantly  commands  a  vast  horizon. 

Who  would  not  have  imagined  that  instruments  so  prodigally 
endowed  would  have  sufficed  for  every  purpose?  but  in  many  cases 
two  or  three  minute  and  simple  eyes,  situated  on  the  forehead 
or  summit  of  the  head,  have  been  superadded  to  their  number. 

The  celebrated  physiologist  Professor  Miiller  is  of  opinion  that 
the  function  of  these  simple  eyes  is  confined  exclusively  to  the 
perception  of  near  objects,  and  that  of  the  compound  eyes  to 
more  distant  ones ;  so  that  we  thus  find  the  sight  of  many  insects 
as  capable  of  embracing  every  range  of  vision,  as  civilized  man 
with  the  artificial  assistance  of  his  near  and  farsighted  spectacles. 

The  simple  eyes  or  ocelli  constitute  the  only  organs  of  vision 
in  the  larva  state,  where  the  compound  eye  would  clearly  have 
been  superfluous ;  as  at  this  early  stage  of  their  development 
insects  are  not  obliged  to  seek  their  food  at  any  great  distance, 
and,  were  they  able  to  perceive  an  enemy  from  afar,  have  not  the 
power  of  escaping  by  a  rapid  flight. 

As  the  food  of  the  different  orders  of  insects  is  extremely 
various,  it  may  easily  be  imagined  that  their  mouths  must  also 
be  very  differently  constructed.  In  those  which  bite,  tear,  or 
lacerate,  it  is  furnished  with  very  strong  jaws,  often  notched  or 
serrated  on  the  inner  side  into  the  appearance  of  teeth,  and 
sometimes  decussating  like  the  blades  of  a  pair  of  scissors ;  in 
others  it  consists  of  a  tube  or  instrument  for  suction,  either  simple 
or  armed  with  various  kinds  of  appendages. 

Thus  in  the  Tabanidae  it  is  furnished  with  sharp  lancets,  to 

o  2 


196 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


enable  these  parasitic  blood-suckers  to  pierce  the  skin  of  other 
animals;  while  in  the  common  house-flies,  whose  food  is  entirely 
fluid  and  easily  accessible,  all  the  parts  of  the  mouth  are  soft 
and  fleshy.  In  the  bee  the  part  employed  in  gathering  or 
sucking  honey  is  not  tubular  but  solid,  and  consists  of  a  long 
tapering  tongue  formed  of  an  immense  number  of  short  annular 
divisions,  and  densely  covered  throughout  its  entire  length  with 
long  erectile  hairs.  Closely  packed  up  and  concealed  when  at 
rest,  it  reaches  to  a  great  distance  when  actively  employed,  and 
laps  up  the  sweet  juices  concealed  at  the  bottom  of  the  flowers 
by  a  constant  succession  of  short  and  quick  extensions  and 
contractions. 

In  the  moths  and  butterflies  the  sucking-tube,  tongue,  or 
proboscis  is  rolled  up  like  a  watch-spring  when  at  rest,  but 
capable  of  being  darted  forth  in  an  instant,  and  sucking  up  with 
great  rapidity  the  nectareous  fluids  on  which  its  gay  volatile 
possessor  lives. 

The  carnivorous  dragonfly  is  armed  with  a  kind  of  flat  pro- 
boscis, with  a  joint  in  the 
middle  and  a  pair  of  strong 
hooks  or  prongs  at  the  end. 
This  proboscis,  when  the  dra- 
gonfly is  at  rest,  is  folded 
or  turned  up  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  lap  over  the 
face  like  a  mask;  but  when 
the  creature  sees  any  insect 
which  it  means  to  attack,  it 
springs  suddenly  for  ward,  and 
by  stretching  forth  the  jointed 
proboscis  readily  obtains  its 
prey. 

The  digestive  apparatus  of 
the  carnivorous  insects  differs 
considerably  from  that  of  the 
vegetable -feeders.  In  the  for- 
mer the  intestine  passes  nearly 
straight  through  the  body 
with  few  enlargements  in  its 
course,  and  the  glandular  organs  have  a  simpler  structure. 


Alimentary  Canal  of  the  carnivorous 
Green  Tiger-beetle. 


DIGESTIVE    POWERS    OF    INSECTS. 


197 


The  wide  and  glandular  crop  (a)  passes  the  food  into  a  compara- 
tively small  stomach  (h  c\  and  the  liver  (d)  consists  of  a  few 
simple  biliary  ducts.  All  this  corresponds  with  their  easily  diges- 
tible food,  while  in  the  vegetable-eating  insect  the  alimentary 
canal  is  more  lengthened,  convoluted,  and  capacious,  with 
numerous  dilatations,  and  the  glandular  organs  are  more 
developed  in  order  to  subdue  the  resistance  of  more  re- 
fractory aliments.  Thus  in  the  cockchafer  the  stomach  (6)  is 
extremely  long  ;  the  intestine  has  several  enlargements  or  sup- 
plementary stomachs,  as  they 
might  be  called,  for  extract- 
ing every  nutritious  particle 
from  the  tough  leaves  on 
which  this  destructive  beetle 
subsists  ;  and  the  liver  (c  c\ 
which  is  here  of  great  mag- 
nitude, has  its  secreting  sur- 
face much  extended  by  the 
development  of  innumerable 
minute  casca  from  its  pri- 
mary ducts. 

In  the  class  of  insects  we 
find  all  the  various  modes  of 
motion  united  that  are  but 
partially  scattered  among 
other  animals.  They  walk, 
they  run,  they  jump,  they 
climb,  dig,  and  burrow 
with  the  quadrupeds;  they 
rival  the  birds  in  rapidity  of 
flight,  they  glide  along  with 

Alimentary  Canal  of  the  vegetable -eating 

the  agility  of  serpents,  and  Cockchafer. 

the  fishes  are  not  more  perfect  swimmers ;  so  that  it  may  be 
said  without  exaggeration  that  these  restless  little  creatures, 
formed  alike  for  the  earth,  the  waters,  and  the  air,  give  life  to 
every  portion  of  our  globe,  The  construction  of  their  feet 
corresponds  in  an  admirable  manner  with  their  various 
modes  of  motion,  so  that  a  mere  glance  at  an  insect's  legs 
suffice  to  give  us  an  idea  of  its  way  of  life.  Thus  the  exces- 
sively strong  forelegs  of  the  mole-cricket,  with  their  broad 


198 


THE    HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 


Gryliotalpa  vulgaris. 
(Mole-cricket). 


feet   divided  into  sharp  and  claw-shaped   segments,  evidently 
belong  to  an  animal  made  for  burrowing  in  the  earth ;    while 

the  enormous  hind -legs  of 
the  grasshopper  point  at 
once,  by  their  great  length 
and  the  robustness  and 
thickness  of  their  thighs,  to 
the  vast  leaps  which  their 
predaceous  owner  is  capable 
of  executing.  A  flea  is 
known  to  clear  at  a  single 
jump  a  space  equal  to  two 
hundred  times  its  own 
length ;  but  this  almost  in- 
credible feat  is  at  once  ex- 
plained by  the  great  size 
and  strength  of  its  muscular 
legs,  the  joints  of  which  are, 
moreover,  so  adapted  that 
it  can  fold  them  up  one 

within  another,  and  in  leaping  they  all  spring  out  with  pro 
digious  force. 

How  small  and  tiny  are  the  feet  of  the  indolent  tortoise- 
beetles,  who,  clinging  to  leaves,  require  no  great  agility  of 

motion ;  how  long  and  well- 
developed  those  of  the  nimble 
Cicindelidse,  whose  life  is  spent 
in  the  constant  pursuit  of  prey  ! 
The  racehorse  and  swiftest  grey- 
hound would  be  distanced  by 
many  an  insect  runner,  were  the 
size  of  the  little  creature  but 
equal  to  the  strength  and  agility 
of  its  limbs. 

Several  insects  execute  prodigious  feats  in  jumping  by  means 
of  other  organs  than  their  legs.  Thus  the  maggot  of  a  little 
black  fly  (Tephritia  putris\  common  in  our  richest  cheeses, 
accomplishes  its  enormous  leaps  somewhat  in  the  same  manner 
as  salmon,  by  taking  the  tail  in  the  mouth  and  then  suddenly 


A.. 


a  Tiger-beetle. 
6  Tortoise-beetle. 


THE    LEGS    OF    INSECTS. 


199 


letting  it  go  again.  S warn mer dam  relates  that  he  beheld  one, 
which  was  not  more  than  the  fourth  part  of  an  inch  in  length, 
jump  out  of  a  box  six  inches  in  depth  ;  which  is  as  if  a  man  six 
feet  high  should  raise  himself  in  the  air  by  jumping  144  feet, 
a  piece  of  agility  evidently  far  surpassing  the  powers  of  Leotard 
himself  ! 

The  Podurinse,  or  springtails,  make  use  with  a  similar  effect 
of  the  long-forked  process  with  which  their  body  is  terminated  : 
while  at  rest,  it  is  bent  forwards  be- 
neath the  abdomen,  but  on  being 
suddenly  extended  backwards  it  jerks 


its  owner  high  into  the  air. 

The  Elateridse  leap  in  a  still  more  sprmgtaii. 

extraordinary  manner.  Their  legs  are  so  short  that  they  are 
unable  to  right  themselves  again  when  placed  on  their  back ; 
but  Providence,  which  leaves  none  of  its  creatures  unprotected, 
has  given  them  another  means  to  ex- 
tricate themselves  from  this  unpleasant 
situation.  A  strong  spine  situated  be- 
neath the  thorax  fits  at  pleasure  into  a 
small  cavity  on  the  upper  part  of  the  ab- 
domen, and  having  been  withdrawn  from 
its  socket,  springs  back  with  consider- 
able, force;  thus  jerking  the  body  seve- 
ral inches  high  into  the  air,  and  enabling 
it  to  regain  its  natural  position.  If  the 
elater  does  not  alight  upon  his  feet 
in  the  first  instance,  he  repeats  his  leap 
until  he  has  gained  his  point. 

Legs  such  as  those  of  the  grasshopper  or  mole-cricket  would 
have  been  but  of  little  use  to  insects  dwelling  in  the  water ;  but 
as  we  find  the  feet  of  the  seals  and  walruses,  which  likewise 
spend  the  greater  part  of  their  existence  in  water,  con- 
verted into  fins  which  enable  them  to  emulate  the  fishes  in 
swimming,  thus  also  the  feet  of  the  aquatic  insects  are  admira- 
>bly  adapted  to  their  peculiar  mode  of  life. 

The  four  posterior  legs  of  the  Dytiscidse  or  water-beetles  are 
not  only  broad  and  flattened  like  oars,  but  ciliated  along  their 
internal  margin,  by  which  means  the  rowing  surface  is  still  more 


Elater  noct'ihicus  (C]iek- 
beetie). 


200 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


a  Water-beetle. 
6  Boat-fly. 


increased.  A  great  development  of  thigh  gives  the  move- 
ments the  necessary  force,  and  the 
broad,  flat,  sharply-margined  body  is 
well  adapted  for  cleaving  the  waters 
with  facility.  Thus  equipped,  these 
voracious  insects,  resting  motionless 
on  the  surface  of  the  water  with  their 
heads  downwards,  in  order  to  watch 
for  their  prey  beneath,  dart  down 
upon  it  with  surprising  swiftness,  and 
make  great  havoc  not  only  among  other  water-insects,  but 
even  among  the  smaller  fishes.  Their  larvaB,  distinguished 
,by  a  long  shrimplike  body,  and  using  their  tail  as  their  chief 
instrument  of  locomotion,  are  no  less  active  and  voracious 
than  the  full-grown  insects,  so  that  in  both  forms  the 
Dytisci  are  among  the  most  mischievous  animals  that  can  infest 
a  fishpond. 

The  NotonectidaB,  or  boat-flies,  are  no  less  beautifully  formed 
for  rapid  progression  in  the  water.  They  generally  swim  on 
their  backs,  which  are  shaped  like  the  bottom  of  a  boat ;  and 
the  hind-legs,  which  are  thrice  as  long  as  the  forelegs,  have  like 
those  of  the  Dytisci  a  fringe  of  bristles  along  their  edge,  by  which 
the  surface  with  which  they  strike  the  water  in  swimming  is 
greatly  increased.  Their  eyes  are  so  placed  that  they 
are  able  to  see  both  above  and  below  the  surface  of  the 
water,  so  that  at  the  approach  of  danger  they  instantly  descend 
and  vanish  from  the  sight.  Woe  to  the  unfortunate  snail  or 
aquatic  Oniscus  they  descry  in  their  excursions,  for  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning  they  dart  upon  their  victim  from  a  distance 
of  several  inches,  and  kill  it  almost  instantaneously  with  a 
venomous  sting ! 

Curveting  about  in  every  direction,  the  small  whirligigs  or 
Gyrini  animate,  during  a  fine  summer's  day, 
the  surface  of  quiet  waters.  The  rapidity 
with  which  they  skim  in  undulatory  circles 
is  not  less  admirable  than  the  precision  with 
which  they  thread  the  mazes  of  their  aquatic 
dance,  so  as  never  to  encounter  and  seldom 
to  touch  each  other.  Their  flattened  and 
oar-shaped  hind-feet  are  peculiarly  adapted  for  these  graceful 


Whirligig. 


SUCKERS   OF   INSECTS. 


201 


evolutions,  which  they  frequently  continue  for  hours  together 
with  unwearied  zest,  while  their  far  longer  forefeet  are  no  less 
admirably  formed  for  seizing  their  prey. 

Like  them,  the  Hydrometridse  may  be  met  with  in  every  pond 
or  stream,  skimming  along  the  surface, 
and  turning  with  the  greatest  rapidity. 
The  body  is  boat-shaped,  the  hind-feet 
serving  a§  a  rudder  ;  while  the  two  middle 
feet  brush  along  the  surface  of  the  water, 
and  give  the  required  motion.  The  under 
side  of  the  body  is  clothed  with  a  thick 
coating  of  fine  hairs,  evidently  intended  to 
prevent  the  insect  from  coming  in  contact 
with  the  water. 

By  means  of  the  strong  hooks  or 
claws  with  which  their  feec  are  usually 
armed,  most  insects  are  able  to  climb  with  great  facility  on 
a  rough  surface ;  while  others  are  provided  with  a  more  com- 
plicated apparatus,  which  enables  them  to  ascend  vertically  on 


Hydrometra  stagnorum. 


Foot  of  Domestic  Fly. 


Foot  of  Bibio  febrilis. 


the  surface  of  glass,  or  to  remain  suspended  in  an  inverted 
position  from  the  ceiling.  We  have  a  familiar  example  in 
the  house-fly,  which  has  the  extremities  of  its  feet  furnished 
with  two  funnel-shaped  membranous  suckers,  moveable  by 
muscles  in  every  direction,  by  which  they  are  capable  of  ex- 
hausting the  air  on  very  smooth  surfaces — thus  causing  the 
pressure  of  the  atmosphere  to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  body. 
The  area  of  these  suckers  is  so  beautifully  adjusted  to  the 


202 


THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


weight  of  the  insect,  that  the  pressure  of  the  air  alone 
is  more  than  sufficient  to  sustain  it  without  exertion,  and, 
as  it  were,  to  set  the  force  of  gravity  at  defiance.  In  the 
Bibio  febrilis  the  foot  is  furnished  with  three  suckers,  and 
in  the  Cymbex  lutea  with  five.  Many  other  species,  amongst 
which  is  the  common  wasp,  are  similarly  furnished  with  cushions 
and  analogous  suckers,  which  enable  them  to  ascend  vertically 
on  glass. 

Most  of  the  perfect  in- 
sects have  their  body  most 
admirably  organised  for 
flight.  In  all  its  parts  it 
is  traversed  by  numerous 
air-tubes,  communicating 
with  several  external  open- 
ings or  spiracles,  and  not 
only  branching  out  into 
numberless  ramifications, 
so  as  to  penetrate  even 
the  smallest  and  most 
delicate  organs,  but  fre- 
quently also  dilating  into 
vesicles  or  sacklike  expan- 
sions, the  size  and  number 
of  which  is  always  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  powers 
of  flight ;  their  development 
being  most  considerable  in 
the  bees,  flies,  and  butter- 
flies, while  there  is  not 
the  slightest  trace  of  them 
in  the  wingless  larvae,  or 
in  insects  that  constantly 
reside  on  the  ground. 
Thus  by  a  most  beautiful  mechanism  the  tracheae  or  air- 
vessels  not  only  abundantly  supply  the  insect  with  all  the 
oxygen  needed  for  its  active  habits  of  life—  they  not  only  act  as 
lungs  or  respiratory  organs,  but  diminish  at  the  same  time  the 
specific  gravity  of  its  body,  and  enable  it  to  support  itself  on 
the  wing  with  less  muscular  effort.  The  spiracles,  stigmata,  or 


Tracheal  System  of  Water  Scorpion. 
a  head,  6  first  pair  of  legs,  c  first  segment  of  the 
thorax,  d  second  pair  of  wings,  e  second  pair 
of  legs,  /  tracheal  trunk,  g  one  of  the  stigmata, 
h  air-sac. 


FLIGHT    OP    INSECTS.  203 

breathing-pores  through  which  the  air  enters  and  is  discharged, 
and  which  are  generally  visible  on  the  exterior  of  the  body  of  the 
insect  as  a  series  of  pores  along  each  margin  of  the  wider-sur- 
face, are  also  most  admirable  instances  of  Provident  Wisdom. 
For  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  minute  particles  of  dust  or  soot — 
which,  were  their  orifices  widely  open,  would  be  continually  enter- 
ing and  disturbing  the  functions  of  respiration — they  are  generally 
furnished  with  a  sieve, 
consisting  either  of  an 
interlacement  of  minute 
branches,  as  in  the  com- 
mon fly,  or  of  a  mem- 
brane perforated  with 
minute  holes,  as  in  the 
larva  of  the  cockchafer  ; 
and  thus  in  every  detail 

of     insect     economy     We  Spiracle  of  Common  Fly. 

find  models  of  perfection  worthy  of  an  Almighty  Hand. 

The  articulated  abdomen,  extremely  moveable  in  those 
insects  which  sustain  the  longest  and  most  powerful  flight, 
serves  as  a  rudder,  like  the  tail  in  birds ;  and  the  wings  are 
invariably  situated  as  near  as  possible  to  the  centre  of  gravity,  so 
that  the  weight  they  have  to  carry  may  be  equally  balanced,  and 
their  task  rendered  more  easy.  These  organs,  so  fragile  and 
seemingly  so  weak,  are  frequently  endowed  with  wonderful 
powers,  so  that  in  point  of  celerity  many  insects,  comparatively 
to  their  size,  fly  much  quicker  than  any  birds.  It  has  been 
calculated  that  the  common  fly  in  its  ordinary  flight  makes  with 
its  wings  about  600  strokes,  which  convey  it  five  feet  every 
second;  but  if -alarmed,  their  velocity  can  be  increased  six  or 
sevenfold,  or  to  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet  in  the  same  period— a 
speed  which  emulates  even  that  of  the  greyhound  or  the  hare. 
The  strength  of  muscle  and  nerve  requisite  for  such  a  rapid 
action  is  truly  amazing,  and  beautiful  indeed  must  be  the 
structure  capable  of  exertions  such  as  these  ! 

As  in  the  birds,  the  powers  of  flight  are  very  unequally  dis- 
tributed among  the  insects,  but  always  in  strict  accordance  with 
their  wants.  Wings  would  have  been  perfectly  useless  to  the 
numerous  parasitic  tribes,  whose  sphere  of  existence  is  confined 
to  the  narrowest  limits ;  and  the  countless  hosts  of  creeping  or 


204  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

running  larvae,  from  which,  after  incalculable  losses, 'the  winged 
legions  of  the  beetles  and  flies  emerge,  are  likewise  doomed  to  a 
wingless  state.  Where  food  is  always  near  at  hand  in  inexhausti- 
ble quantities,  or  w7here,  as  in  the  grasshoppers,  the  leaping 
faculty  is  extremely  developed,  the  powers  of  flight  are  propor- 
tionally less  active,  while  they  appear  to  perfection  in  such  vege- 
table-feeders as  are  obliged  to  roam  about  constantly  from  flower 
to  flower,  or  in  those  predaceous  insects  that  feed  upon  a 
volatile  prey  scarcely  less  active  than  themselves.  Thus  we 
see  the  dragonfly  darting  with  the  velocity  of  a  hawk  over 
rivulets  and  ponds,  over  meadows  and  hedges,  and  rivalling  the 
sparrow  in  the  extermination  of  gnats  and  flies.  While  it 
performs  its  evolutions,  the  delicate  transparent  tissue  of  its 
large  gossamer  pinions  gleams  in  the  broad  sunshine  with 
all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow;  but  still  richer  tints,  a  still 
more  gorgeous  metallic  brilliancy  adorns  the  wings  of  many 
beetles  and  butterflies. 

We  admire  the  mosaic  works  of  the  Italian  artists,  where 
thousands  of  minute  stones  are  joined  together  with  such  con- 
summate skill  as  to  deceive  the  eye,  and  rival  the  finest 
pictures  in  harmony  of  outline  and  colours  ;  but  yet  how  coarse 
are  these  masterpieces  of  human  skill  when  compared  with  the 
texture  of  the  butterfly's  wing,  where  countless  scales,  undis- 
tinguishable  by  the  naked  eye,  form  patterns  of  the  most  ex- 
quisite beauty! 

On  examining  a  plate  of  mosaic  through  a  microscope  of  very 
moderate  strength,  it  looks  no  better  than  the  roughest  patch- 
work of  a  savage,  while  the  unparalleled  perfection  of  the  butter- 
fly's wing  first  comes  to  light  under  a  strong  magnifying  power. 
Then  it  is  seen  covered  with  regular  rows  of  scales,  each  row 
overlapping  a  portion  of  the  next,  so  that  the  surface  appears 
tiled  like  the  roof  of  a  house  ;  and  each  scale  shows  itself  regu- 
larly marked  by  narrow  longitudinal  ribbings,  and  furnished 
with  a  sort  of  handle  at  one  end,  by  which  it  is  fitted  into  a 
minute  socket  attached  to  the  surface  of  the  insect.  Each  scale 
consists  of  two  superficial  coloured  laminaa,  inclosing  a  central 
lamina  of  structureless  membrane,  the  surface  of  which  is 
highly  polished,  and  which  acts  as  a  foil  to  increase  their  bril- 
liancy by  reflecting  back  the  light  that  passes  through  them. 

Thus  each  scale  is  in  itself  a  masterpiece  of  art,  and   many 


THE    WINGS    OF    INSECTS.  205 

thousands  of  these  minute  gems  are  required  to  deck  the  wings 
of  a  single  butterfly.  No  monarch  is  more  richly  robed 
than  this  mean  little  insect,  which  each  summer  brings  forth  in 
millions  ! 

Pursued  by  a  thousand  enemies,  encompassed  by  a  thousand 
dangers,  the  insects  must  long  since  have  perished,  had  not  the 
Beneficent  Creator  provided  them  with  defences  sufficient  to 
counterbalance  the  perils  which  continually  menace  their  exist- 
ence. Many,  without  being  obliged  to  use  the  least  exertion, 
are  protected  by  their  colour  or  their  form  against  numberless 
attacks.  The  grey  darkly-spotted  Curculio  nebulosus  is  so  like 
the  soil  upon  which  he  is  generally  found,  that  he  will  de- 
ceive even  the  searching  eye  of  the  entomologist;  and  the 
Cassida  viridis  or  common  green  tortoise-beetle,  often  seen 
during  the  summer  months  in  gardens  on  the  leaves  of  mint, 
is  so  like  in  colour  to  the  herbs  on  which  it  lives,  that,  still  fur- 
ther protected  by  its  usual  immobility  and  flattened  form,  it 
can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  an  excrescence  of  the  plant. 

The  wings  of  almost  all  the  moths  are  mottled,  and  variegated 
with  dull  colours,  so  that  these  hesperian  or  nocturnal  insects 
need  not  shelter  themselves  under  cover,  but  securely  repose 
during  the  day  in  the  crevices  of  the  bark  of  trees,  or  on  old 
walls  and  palings;  and  being  perfectly  motionless,  their  colours 
harmonise  so  exactly  with  these  objects  that  they  are  over- 
looked by  their  enemies.  To  cite  but  one  example,  the  wings  of 
the  English  lappet-moth  so  ex- 
actly resemble,  both  in  shape  and 
colour,  an  arid  brown  leaf,  as 
to  deceive  the  most  inquisitive 
eyes. 

Even  the  brightest  of  our  but- 
terflies are  similarly  protected. 
The  beautiful  Van  essse,  the  upper  Lappet -moth. 

surface  of  whose  wings  is  so  richly  illumined,  are  on  the  under- 
side all  black  or  brown,  or  striped  with  grey,  so  that  it  is  difficult 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  ground  or  the  trunks  of  trees,  on 
which  they  repose  with  folded  wings. 

Several  of  the  beetles  belonging  to  the  families  of  the  Trogidse 
and  Curculionidse,  by  the  spinelike  protuberances  and  deep 
sulcations  of  their  wing-cases,  resemble  the  dried  hispid  seeds 


206  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE 

of  plants.     But  the  delusion   of  form  and  colour  is  nowhere 
carried  to  such  perfection  as  in  the  family  of  the  Phasmidse, 


Peacock  Butterfly.  Red  Admiral  Butterfly. 

(Vanessa  Io.)  (Vanessa  alalanta.) 

popularly  known  under  the  name  of  c  walking-sticks'  and  c  walk- 
ing leaves.'  The  latter,  exhibiting  the 
most  cunning  of  all  Nature's  devices  for 
the  preservation  of  her  creatures,  are 
found  in  the  Indian  jungles  in  all  varie- 
ties of  hues,  from  the  pale-yellow  of  an 
opening  bud  to  the  rich  green  of  the 
full-blown  leaf,  and  the  withered  tint  of 
decay.  So  perfect  is  the  imitation  of  a 
leaf  in  structure  and  articulation,  that 
these  amazing  insects,  when  at  rest,  are 
.  almost  undistinguishablefrom  the  foliage 
around  ;  not  only  are  the  wings  modelled 

to  resemble  ribbed  and  fibrous  follicles,  but  every  joint  of  the 
legs  is  expanded  into  a  broad  plait,  like  a  half-opened  leaflet. 
They  rest  on  their  abdomen,  the  legs  serving  to  drag  them  slowly 
along,  and  thus  the  flatness  of  their  attitude  adds  still  further 
to  the  appearance  of  a  leaf.  This  wonderful  plantlike  semblance 
extends  even  to  the  eggs,  which  might  at  first  sight  be  mistaken 
for  the  deeply-ribbed  seeds  of  various  umbelliferous  plants. 

Many  insects  are  defended  by  the  extreme  hardness  of  their 
external  coverings,  which,  though  not  capable  of  resisting  the 
powerful  beak  of  a  raptorial  bird,  still  shield  them  against  the 
attacks  of  many  an  enemy  of  their  own  class.  The- flinty  hard- 
ness of  a  beetle's  coat-of-mail  will  frequently  set  the  pin  of 
the  entomologist  at  defiance,  and  even  the  skin  of  the  common 
horse-fly  is  so  tough  that  the  utmost  pressure  of  the  finger  and 
thumb  will  hardly  deprive  the  little  creature  of  its  life. 

Others  are  endowed  with  so  wonderful  a  vitality  that  they 
resist  for  a  length  of  time,  or  survive  almost  incredible  injuries. 


VITALITY    OF    INSECTS.  207 

Thus  grasshoppers  will  sometimes  outlive  immersion  in  boil- 
ing-water, or  bear,  without  expiring,  the  removal  of  their  intes- 
tines ;  a  mite  has  been  known  to  live  eleven  weeks,  without 
food,  gummed  to  the  point  of  a  pin;  and  Swammerdam 
affirms  that  the  chameleon-fly  will  retain  its  vital  powers  for 
forty-eight  hours  after  being  immersed  in  spirits  of  wine. 
The  wonderful  vitality  of  insects  is  shown  also  in  the  compa- 
ratively little  pain  they  appear  to  feel  from  injuries,  which  to  us 
would  occasion  excruciating  torment,  or  instant  death.  This 
insensibility  is  manifestly  a  wise  and  merciful  provision  of  the 
Almighty  towards  those  of  His  creatures  which,  of  all  others, 
are  most  liable  to  accidents  from  the  number  and  variety  of  their 
enemies. 

Many  insects  seek  to  escape  from  danger  by  feigning 
death.  The  larva  of  Hydrophilus  piceus  becomes  suddenly  flac- 
cid and  soft  on  being  touched,  as  if  it  had  long  ceased  to  live  ; 
and  the  common  dungchafer,  when  touched,  or  in  fear,  sets  out 
its  legs  as  stiff  as  if  they  were  made  of  iron-wire,  and  remains 
perfectly  motionless.  At  the  approach  of  danger  the  Buprestida? 
and  many  of  the  weevil-beetles  drop  down  from  the  leaf  on 
which  they  feasted,  and  then  even  the  keenest  eye  is  frequently 
unable  to  distinguish  them  from  the  ground  on  which  they  fell. 
The  caterpillars  of  the  looper- 
moths  when  at  rest  support  ^ 

themselves  for  hours  by  means 
of  their  hinder-feet  only,  rais- 
ing the  body  high  in  the  air, 
and  preserving  it  in  a  stiff 
straight  line,  or  in  a  curve. 
The  colour  of  the  skin  exactly 
resembles  that  of  the  stem  or 
bark  of  the  tree  upon  which 

the  caterpillar   feeds,    and    so  caterpillar  ef Looper-moth. 

complete  is  the  deception  tnat 

a  person,  after  having  had  one  of  these  deceiving  masqueraders 
pointed  out  to  him,  can  hardly  be  persuaded  that  it  is  anything 
else  than  a  twig.  Thanks  to  its  attitude,  it  deceives  the  numerous 
small  warblers  which  are  constantly  searching  for  insects  among 
foliage ;  while  other  caterpillars,  such  as  those  of  the  hawk- 
moths,  endeavour  to  repel  the  attacks  of  their  enemies  by 


208  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

assuming  attitudes  of  a  threatening  or  terrific  character.     A 

considerable  number  of  insects 
defend  themselves  by  the  secre- 
tion of  poisonous  or  foetid  scents 
or  fluids.  Thus  many  of  the 
tropical  ants  emit  a  corrosive 
acid,  which,  infused  into  the  wound 
caused  by  their  mandibles,  pro- 

Caterpillar  of  Hawk-moth.  dUC6S  the  m°St  excruciating  pain. 

Woe  to  the  naturalist  who,  ig- 
norant of  the  fact,  endeavours  to  break  off  a  shoot  of  the  Tri- 
plaris,  or  merely  knocks  against  this  tree,  whose  hollow  branches 
harbour  one  of  the  most  ferocious  ants,  for  thousands  will  in- 
stantly issue  from  small  round  lateral  openings  in  the  plant,  and 
fall  upon  him  with  fury  !  The  touch  of  a  red-hot  iron  is  not 
more  painful  than  their  bite,  and  the  inflammation  and  pain 
last  for  several  days  after. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  insects  possessing  this  species  of 
defence  are  the  beetles  called  bombardiers.  The  most  common 
species  (Brachinus  cr^pifcms),  when  pursued  by  some  formidable 
enemy,  seem  at  first  to  have  no  mode  of  escape,  when  suddenly  a 
loud  explosion  is  heard ;  and  a  blue  smoke,  attended  by  a  very 
disagreeable  scent,  is  seen  to  proceed  from  its  anus,  and  this 
immediately  stops  the  progress  of  its  assailant.  When  the  latter 
has  recovered  from  the  effects  of  this  discharge,  and  the  pursuit  is 
renewed,  a  second  in  like  manner  arrests  its  course.  The  little 
artilleryman  can  fire  his  gun  twenty  times  in  succession,  if 
necessary,  and  so  gain  time  to  effect  his  escape.  The  smoke 
has  a  strong  and  pungent  odour,  very  similar  to  that  of  nitric 
acid ;  it  is  caustic,  and  produces  on  the  skin  the  sensation  of 
burning.  Other  insects,  to  whom  such  energetic  means  of  defence 
have  been  denied,  have  recourse  to  concealment  for  their  safet}^. 
Thus  the  small  aquatic  beetles  creep  under  the  mud,  to  be 
secure,  while  feeding,  from  the  larger  predaceous  sorts  which 
surround  them.  The  Keduvius  personatus,  a  species  of  bug, 
hides  itself  under  a  thick  coat  of  dust,  which  answers  the  double 
purpose  of  stratagem  and  protection ;  and  some  of  the  tortoise- 
beetles  have  the  still  more  singular  custom  of  sheltering  them- 
selves under  a  canopy  affixed  to  their  tail,  and  formed  of  their 
own  excrement ;  this  they  elevate  in  the  air,  bringing  it  over 


CADDICE-WORMS. 


209 


their   body,  precisely   the   same   as   we   should   hold   an  um- 
brella. 

Though  caterpillars  are  frequently  protected  against  injury 
by  tufts  of  hairs,  by  acrid  secretions,  by  stinging  properties,  or 
by  closely  resembling  in  colour  the  leaves  upon  which  they  feed, 
yet  concealment  is  their  most  ordinary  mode  of  defence.  Some- 
times the  whole  brood  spins  a  common  web,  like  a  large  tent, 


Caddice-worms. 

under  which  all  the  community  for  a  part  of  their  lives  reside ; 
sometimes  every  individual  rolls  himself  up  in  a  leaf,  like  a 
solitary  hermit,  so  as  to  be  completely  hidden,  and  inaccessible 
to  his  enemies. 

The  caterpillars  of  the  caddice-flies,  so  common  in  streams  and 
ponds  of  water,  enclose  themselves  in  moveable  tubes,  and  crawl 
about,  like  their  representatives  the  hermit-crabs,  at  the  bottom 


210  THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

of  the  liquid  element.  During  the  inactive  chrysalis  state,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  open  end  of  these  cylindrical  cases  should  be 
sufficiently  closed  to  prevent  the  intrusion  of  enemies,  and  still 
admit  the  water  necessary  for  their  existence  ;  but  a  most  admira- 
ble instinct  has  taught  the  sagacious  little  creatures  to  provide 
for  this  want  by  the  interweaving  of  a  grate,  or  portcullis,  at 
each  end  of  their  fortress,  which  at  the  same  time  keeps  out 
intruders,  and  admits  the  water.  Several  dendritic  caterpillars 
arm  their  cases  in  a  no  less  curious  manner  with  thorns  taken 
from  the  tree  itself  on  which  they  dwell,  thus  causing  the 
nest  to  harmonize  so  perfectly  with  surrounding  objects  that  it 
is  not  very  easily  perceived.  The  thorns  are  all  disposed  with 


Small  Ermine  Moths. 


their  points  outwards,  and  are  stuck  into  a  strong  glutinous 
material  of  which  the  body  of  the  case  is  composed,  like  the 
spikes  of  a  chevaux-de-frise.  As  long  as  the  caterpillar  remains 
in  its  larval  state,  and  is  obliged  to  feed,  it  traverses  the 
branches  freely,  carrying  with  it  the  prickly  home,  and  bearing 
the  whole  of  its  weight  as  it  moves.  But  when  the  pupal  stage 
has  nearly  arrived,  the  nest  is  suspended  to  the  branch  by 
strong  silken  threads,  and  thenceforth  remains  immoveable. 

Among   the   social   caterpillars  those   of  the  Small  Ermine 
Moth  deserve  particular  notice.    They  live  in  large  tents,  placed 


ERMINE    MOTHS.  211 

among  the  branches  of  some  tree,  and  composed  of  silken 
threads,  which  are  loosely  crossed  and  recrossed  in  various 
directions.  From  this  citadel  the  caterpillars  issue  in  vast 
numbers,  each  individual  spinning  a  strong  silken  thread  as  it 
proceeds,  which  acts  as  a  guide  to  the  nest,  just  as  the  thread  of 
Ariadne  led  Theseus  through  the  mazes  of  the  Cretan  labyrinth. 
When  once  these  caterpillars  have  taken  possession  of  a  tree, 
they  are  sure  to  strip  it  of  its  leaves  as  completely  as  if  the 
breath  of  winter  had  laid  them  low. 

It  is  a  very  curious  sight  to  watch  the  systematic  manner  in 
which  these  troublesome  insects  set  about  their  work ;  how  they 
send  out  pioneers,  which  lead  the  way  to  new  branches,  either  by 
crawling  up  to  them,  or  by  lowering  themselves  to  them  by  means 
of  their  silken  cordage ;  and  how  the  vanguard  is  soon  followed 
by  a  troop  of  ever-hungry  companions. 

Though  very  conspicuous,  especially  when  making  their  way 
from  bough  to  bough  along  their  silken  bridges,  they  are  secure 
from  the  attacks  of  sparrows  or  other  small  birds;  for  their 
threads,  traversing  the  branches  in  all  directions,  act  as  an 
effectual  barrier,  by  striking  against  the  wings  and  terrifying 
their  aggressors.  These  threads  are  very  elastic,  and  of  marvel- 
lous strength,  considering  their  tenuity,  producing  most  uncom- 
fortable sensations  when  they  come  across  the  face.  Thus  these 
destructive  caterpillars  are  able  to  rob  the  orchards  with  com- 
parative impunity,  and  the  only  way  to  prevent  their  damages 
is  to  destroy  their  nests  in  early  spring,  before  they  have  had 
time  to  sally  forth. 

The  industry  of  the  clothes-moth  in  weaving  its  little  den  of 
refuge  is  no  less  remarkable.  Having  spun  a  thin  coating  of 
silk  round  its  body,  it  cuts  filaments  of  wool  or  fur  close  to  the 
thread  of  the  cloth,  and  applies  the  pieces  to  the  outside  of  its 
case,  which  covering  it  never  leaves  except  in  cases  of  urgent 
necessity.  When  it  wishes  to  feed  it  puts  out  its  head  at  either 
end  of  the  case,  as  best  suits  its  convenience.  When  inclined  to 
change  its  position,  it  protrudes  its  head  and  about  half  its  body, 
dragging  its  case  by  fixing  its  hind-legs  firmly  in  it ;  and  when, 
from  its  increase  in  size,  the  case  becomes  too  small,  it  makes 
an  addition  to  it  at  each  end.  This  operation  can  be  readily 
traced  by  transferring  it  from  cloth  of  one  colour  to  another,  when 
each  addition  will  be  conspicuous  from  the  difference  of  colour. 

p  2 


212  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

The  insects  are  not  only  provided  with  abundant  means  of 
defence  —  -they  are  equally  well  equipped  for  aggressive  warfare. 
The  herbivorous  genera,  which  are  by  far  the  most  abundant, 
require,  of  course,  no  extraordinary  weapons  or  stratagems  for 
procuring  their  subsistence  ;  wherever  they  are  called  into  exis- 
tence they  find  the  table  richly  furnished,  and  their  innume- 
rable legions  peacefully  share  in  the  countless  fruits,  leaves, 
blossoms,  stems,  and  roots  of  the  forests  and  the  fields. 

The  parasitical  insects  likewise  lead  an  easy  life,  sipping  the 
juices  which  others  have  elaborated,  and  indolently  quaffing  at 
perennial  fountains  ;  but  the  case  is  very  different  with  the 
predaceous  insects,  which,  like  the  carnivorous  quadrupeds 
and  birds  of  prey,  can  only  maintain  themselves  by  artifice  or 
violence,  by  swiftness  or  patience,  and,  after  long  delays  and 
exertions,  are  frequently  only  rewarded  with  a  meagre  repast. 
Yet  no  soldier  enters  the  field  better  equipped  than  they  ;  and 
though  they  have  greater  trouble  in  obtaining  their  food  than 
their  herbivorous  or  parasitical  relations,  they  are  amply  re- 
warded by  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  Many,  like  the  carabi 
and  cicindela?,  have  strong  muscular  legs,  which  enable  them 
to  overtake  their  prey,  before  it  can  conceal  itself  in  some 
crevice  ;  others,  like  the  numerous  genera  of  the  hydrophili  and 
dytisci,  trust  to  their  expertness  in  swimming  ;  while  others 
again,  like  the  libellulae,  cleave  the  air  with  lightning-like 
rapidity. 

Many  are  provided  with  venomous  stings,  or  with  a  poison 
ejected  through  the  mandible,  so  that  their  bite  is  fatal;  in 
others,  the  forefeet  are  converted  into  admirable  instruments 
for  the  seizure  of  their  prey.  Thus,  in  the  common  gyrinus  or 
water-flea,  these  members  are  much  longer  than  the  hind-legs, 
and  seize  the  smaller  aquatic  animals  with  the  same  dexterity 
and  force  as  the  claws  of  the  crab.  In  the  mantidse  they  are 

developed  to  an  enormous  length, 
and  formed  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  tibia  closes  like  a  clasp-knife,  on 
the  sharp  edge  of  the  thigh.  Thus 
armed,  the  mantis,  like  a  cat  ap- 


Mantis.  preaching  a  mouse,  and  under  the 

(Mantis  religiosa.)  °  ...  ' 

cover  of  her  leal-like  disguise,  moves 
almost  imperceptibly  along,  and  steals  towards  her  pre}^,  fearful 


LARVA    OF    THE    ANT-LION.  213 

of  putting  it  to  flight.  When  sufficiently  near,  the  forelegs  are 
darted  out  to  their  full  length,  and,  suddenly  closing  on  their 
unfortunate  victim,  cut  it  into  two,  as  if  it  had  been  mowed  with 
a  scythe. 

The  larva  of  the  ant-lion,  an  insect  which,  in  its  perfect  state, 
bears  no  inconsiderable  resemblance  to  a  small  dragonfly,  has 
long  been  famous  for  the  manner  in  which  it  obtains  its  food. 
Though  totally  unfit  for  the  chase  (as  only  the  hinder  pair  of 
its  very  feeble  legs  are  employed  for  locomotion,  and  these 
can  only  drag  it  slowly  backwards),  yet  its  industry  in  exca- 
vating the  pitfalls,  which  are  without  a  parallel  in  the  animal 
kingdom,  enables  it  fully  to  supply  the  want  of  speed,  and 
to  triumph  over  the  most  active  insects.  Depressing  the  end 
of  its  abdomen,  and  crawling  backwards  in  a  circular  direction, 
it  traces  a  shallow  trench  in  some  sandy  spot,  where  the  soil  is 
as  free  as  possible  from  stones,  and  continues  this  motion  until 
it  reaches  the  centre,  scooping  up  the  sand  all  the  time  with 
its  head,  and  jerking  it  over  the  margin  of  the  trench;  nor 
does  it  rest  in  its  labours  until  it  has  at  length  completed  a 
smooth-sided  conical  pit,  varying  from  one  to  three  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  top,  and  gradually  tapering  to  the  bottom.  In 
the  course  of  its  labours  it  frequently  meets  with  small  stenes ; 
these  it  places  upon  its  head,  one  by  one,  and  jerks  them 
over  the  margin  of  the  pit.  If  the  weight  happens  to  be  too 
considerable,  a  new  plan  is  adopted;  for,  poising  the  stone  upon 
its  back,  it  carefully  walks  up  the  ascent,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  depositing  its  burden  outside  the  margin.  But  it  not 
seldom  happens  that,  before  it  reaches  the  top,  an  unfortunate 
stumble  or  a  jolt  mocks  the  efforts  of  the  little  Sisyphus,  and 
sends  the  liliputian  rock  to  the  bottom  of  the  precipice. 
Any  less  patient  workman  would  abandon  the  case  as  hopeless ; 
but  the  ant-lion  is  not  so  easily  disheartened,  and  has  been  seen 
six  times  patiently  to  renew  his  attempts,  until  at  last  his 
resolution  was  rewarded  with  success.  It  is  only  when  the 
task  is  utterly  impracticable  that  the  persevering  engineer  at 
length  gives  in,  and,  leaving  his  half-finished  pit,  seeks  a  more 
favourable  spot  for  the  formation  of  another. 

When  all  obstacles  are  overcome,  and  the  work  is  completed, 
the  ant-lion,  eager  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  labour,  now  takes 
his  station  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  and,  to  avoid  scaring  his 


214  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

intended  victims,  buries  himself  entirely  in  the  sand,  with  the 
exception  of  the  points  of  his  expanded  mandibles.  It  is  not 
long  before  some  curious  ant  or  inquisitive  little  beetle  approaches 
the  yawning  abyss ;  but  no  sooner  does  it  step  upon  the  margin 
of  the  pit,  than  the  treacherous  sand  gives  way  under  its  feet; 
its  desperate  struggles  only  hasten  its  descent,  and,  rolling  down 
the  yielding  sides  of  the  pit,  it  is  precipitated  headlong  into  the 
jaws  of  its  concealed  devourer. 

Sometimes,  when  a  more  powerful  insect  chances  to  fall  into 
the  pit,  the  ant-lion  does  not  obtain  a  meal  on  such  easy  terms, 
and  a  regular  battle  ensues;  the  victim,  in  its  furious  endeavours 
to  escape,  bringing  down  the  sand  in  torrents,  which  the  ant- 
lion,  to  avoid  being  overwhelmed,  flings  up  again  as  fast  as  he 
can.  During  this  conflict  a  fortunate  shower  of  sand  striking 
the  intended  prey  may  knock  it  over,  and  bring  it  within  reach 
of  the  devourer's  terrible  jaw,  or  it  may  give  over  through  sheer 
fatigue  ;  but  sometimes,  the  pit  gradually  filling  up,  and  render- 
ing the  slope  of  the  sides  shallower,  it  succeeds  in  making  its 
escape  from  the  den,  leaving  the  baffled  'ogre'  to  mourn 
over  the  desolation  of  his  shapeless  and  ruined  dwelling. 

Though  it  does  not  dig  an  artificial  pitfall,  the  larva  of  the 
tiger-beetle  catches  its  prey  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner.  It 
lives  in  perpendicular  burrows,  about  a  foot  in  depth,  which  it  is 
able  to  traverse  with  great  rapidity,  and  which  are  only  just  of 
sufficient  diameter  to  permit  the  inhabitant  to  pass  up-and-down ; 
ascending  to  the  upper  portion  of  its  burrow  by  means  of  the  pair 
of  bent  hooks  that  rise  from  a  humplike  projection  on  the  lower 
part  of  its  back,  and  then  laying  its  jaws  level  with  the  soil.  While 
in  this  attitude  it  is  almost  invisible,  and  as  soon  as  an  insect 
passes  by  the  ambushed  larva  the  sickle-like  jaws  grasp  it,  and 
it  is  dragged  to  the  bottom  of  the  tunnel,  where  it  is  devoured. 
Not  only  is  the  larva  carnivorous,  but  it  is  combative  in  pro- 
portion to  its  voracity;  so  that  if  a  straw  be  thrust  into  its  bur- 
row, it  will  fasten  upon  it  with  the  obstinate  fury  of  a  bulldog,  and 
suffer  itself  to  be  dragged  out  of  its  home  rather  than  let  go  its 
supposed  enemy.  The  burrow,  which  is  the  larva's  own  work, 
costs  it  both  time  and  trouble;  the  earth  being  loosened  by  means 
of  the  feet  and  jaws,  and  then  carried  to  the  surface  or  the  flat- 
tened head. 

Of  the  insects  it  may  truly  be  said  that  the  part  they  play  in 


RAVAGES    OF    INSECTS.  215 

the  household  of  Nature  seems  quite  out  of  proportion  to  their 
minute  size,  and  that,  though  small  in  body,  the  miseries  they 
inflict  on  mankind  are  on  a  truly  gigantic  scale.  They  destroy 
and  devastate  our  dwellings,  our  fields,  our  meadows,  our  gar- 
dens, and  our  forests  :  they  feed  upon  our  winter  provisions, 
they  devour  our  clothing,  they  attack  our  libraries,  they  torment 
or  even  kill  our  cattle ;  and,  not  content  with  all  these  various 
attacks  upon  our  property,  they  even  venture  to  assail  our 
persons,  as  if  to  mock  our  pretensions  to  the  lordship  of  the 
earth ! 

The  celebrated  entomologist  Eatzeburg  enumerates  650 
species  of  insects  injurious  to  the  forests  of  Germany  alone,  and 
this  number  may  give  us  some  idea  of  the  innumerable  hosts 
which  prey  upon  the  vegetable  kingdom  all  over  the  world.  In  all 
their  organs,  in  every  stage  of  their  development,  the  children 
of  Flora  are  attacked,  or  even  utterly  destroyed,  over  vast  tracts 
of  territory  by  these  omnivorous  and  ubiquitous  creatures. 

Locust-swarms  often  change  miles  and  miles  of  fruitful  fields 
into  a  dreadful  desert.  In  the  year  1773  the  larvaa  of  the 
bostrychus  xylographicus,  or  the  typographer-beetle,  of  which 
about  80,000  were  collected  on  a  single  tree  of  moderate 
size,  destroyed  above  two  millions  of  firs  on  the  Harz  moun- 
tains ;  and  in  the  year  1479,  the  cockchafers  were  so  numerous 
in  Switzerland  that  they  caused  a  famine,  and  having  been  cited 
before  the  ecclesiastical  court  of  Lausanne  to  answer  for  their 
misdeeds,  were  excommunicated  by  their  enlightened  judges  ! 

These  few  instances  suffice  to  show  how  destructive  the  im- 
mense multiplication  of  the  herbivorous  insects  may  become: 
and  when  we  consider  how  many  millions  of  tiny  mandibles 
are  continually  at  work,  grinding,  sawing,  cutting,  maiming, 
and  devouring  all  plants,  from  the  most  humble  grasses  to 
the  stateliest,  trees,  we  well  may  wonder  how  in  spite  of  such 
attacks  our  forests  still  bear  such  shady  canopies,  and  our  fields 
and  meadows  such  plentiful  harvests. 

But  Providence,  which  so  admirably  maintains  the  balance 
throughout  the  whole  economy  of  the  organic  world,  and  com- 
mands the  tides  to  go  thus  far  and  no  farther,  has  also  set  limits 
to  the  ravages  of  the  herbivorous  insects.  A  rainy  and  change- 
able spring  is  alone  sufficient  to  sweep  away  countless  myriads  of 
larvse  while  casting  their  skin,  and  thus  rendered  more  sensitive 


216  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

to  the  influences  of  the  weather.  Besides,  they  are  con- 
stantly decimated  by  legions  of  enemies.  Carnivorous  and 
parasitical  insects  of  all  sorts — carabidae  and  hemiptera,  telephori 
and  coccinellae,  crabronidae  and  sphegidae,  ichneumonidse  and 
tachini,  libellulae  and  hemerobii — are  constantly  chasing  them; 
all  the  warblers — the  swallow  and  the  sparrow,  the  goat-sucker 
and  the  woodpecker,  the  crow  and  the  cuckoo — devour  them  by 
thousands ;  the  hedgehog  and  the  mole,  the  bat  and  the  hog, 
the  myrmecophaga  and  the  armadillo,  annihilate  myriads 
of  larvae,  caterpillars,  ants,  and  termites  ;  and  finally  man,  with 
whom  they  are  at  constant  war,  strains  all  the  resources  of  his 
genius  for  their  destruction. 

Thus,  though  they  occasionally  sweep  over  a  country  like  a 
hurricane  or  a  pestilence,  yet  generally  their  ravages  are 
restrained  within  moderate  bounds,  and  frequently  prove 
more  beneficial  than  hurtful  to  the  economy  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom. 

Many  species  chiefly  attack  such  plants  as  are  already  diseased, 
and  by  hastening  their  destruction  promote  the  growth  of  a 
more  vigorous  generation. 

An  innumerable  army  of  dung-beetles  and  stercoraceous  flies, 
of  ants  and  termites,  is  constantly  at  work,  removing  the  decay- 
ing substances  which  would  otherwise  pollute  the  atmosphere ; 
and  even  the  gnats  and  mosquitos,  whose  bristly  stings  inflict 
such  misery  upon  man,  are  in  another  respect  his  benefactors,  as 
their  larvae  cleanse  the  stagnant  waters  of  the  swamps  and 
morasses,  and  thus  prevent  many  noxious  exhalations. 

The  existence  of  numerous  birds  and  quadrupeds  depends 
upon  that  of  the  insects,  which  are  their  exclusive  food;  and  if 
the  caterpillars  often  prove  a  source  of  great  annoyance  to  the 
gardener,  we  must  not  forget  that  were  the  insects  removed,  the 
nightingale,  the  redbreast,  and  other  delightful  songsters  of 
the  fields  and  groves  would  likewise  perish. 

Thus  the  insects  indirectly  contribute  to  our  enjoyments,  and 
several  of  them  are  of  such  direct  importance  as  to  play  a 
considerable  part  in  the  annals  of  commerce.  The  silk- 
worm, the  cochineal,  and  the  bee  enrich  whole  nations,  and 
give  employment  to  numberless  artisans.  The  gallnuts,  a  not 
unimportant  article  of  trade,  are  produced  by  the  sting  of  a 
wasp  (Cynips  tinctoria)  on  the  leaves  of  the  gall -oak  ;  and  the 


INSECT   LIFE.  217 

punctures  of  the  manna-fly  on  the  bark  of  the  manna- ash, 
cause,  in  a  similar  manner,  a  sugary  exudation  extensively  used 
in  medicine. 

Many  savage  tribes  live  partly  upon  insects ;  the  termites  and 
several  of  the  larger  species  of  ants  are  considered  a  delicacy  ; 
and  the  Bushman  and  the  Bedouin  of  the  desert  hail  with  de- 
light the  approach  of  the  locust-swarms  which  fill  the  husband- 
man with  dismay.  Insects  are  also  used  as  ornaments.  The 
golden  elytra  of  the  sternocera  chrysis  serve  to  enrich  the  em- 
broidery of  the  Indian  zenana  ;  and  the  ladies  in  Brazil  wear 
necklaces  composed  of  the  green-and-azure  wings  of  lustrous 
chrysomelid8&,  whose  brilliancy  rivals  the  costliest  gems  in  beauty. 

Thus  the  insects  gratify  in  various  ways  the  wants  or  the 
vanity  of  man;  and  if  they  frequently  prove  a  source  of 
annoyance  or  even  of  loss,  it  is  in  many  cases  only  the  well- 
deserved  punishment  of  human  cruelty  or  folly.  Thought- 
lessly he  destroys  the  innocent  mole,  the  devourer  of  countless 
grubs — the  bat,  whose  eager  appetite  cleanses  the  land  of  moths 
and  cockchafers ;  nor  does  he  spare  even  the  lovely  songsters 
of  the  groves,  that  not  only  charm  us  with  their  notes,  but  are 
constantly  at  work  preventing  the  dangerous  increase  of  the 
herbivorous  insects. 

Insect  life  gives  us  the  most  convincing  proofs  not  only  of 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  the  Almighty,  but  also  of  His  ineffable 
goodness ;  for  these  numberless  species,  so  variously  gifted,  have 
all  been  born  for  a  far  greater  share  of  happiness  than  of  sorrow. 
The  pangs  of  death  are  generally  short — a  fleeting  moment ; 
while  their  life,  which,  at  least  in  the  larval  state,  is  frequently 
prolonged  during  several  years,  is  almost  entirely  devoted  to 
agreeable  occupations.  When  a  caterpillar  is  feasting  on  a 
succulent  leaf,  or  a  bee  is  sipping  the  nectar  of  a  flower,  they 
are  surely  enjoying  life ;  and  who  can  doubt  of  the  happiness 
of  a  swarm  of  gnats  maintaining  for  hours  together  their 
dances  in  the  air,  or  of  the  butterfly  lightly  hovering  through 
the  forest-glades  in  the  warm  sunshine  ?  The  hum  of  the  beetle 
and  the  shrill  tone  of  the  cicada,  the  cricket's  chirp,  and  the 
buzz  of  the  bee  give  expression  to  sensations  which  are  evidently 
of  no  gloomy  nature ;  and  as  every  moderate  exertion  of  our 
mental  or  bodily  faculties  calls  forth  agreeable  feelings,  we  can 
be  well  assured  that  the  rapid  course  of  the  tiger-beetle,  the 


218  THE   HARMONIES   OP  NATUKE. 

prodigious  leap  of  the  grasshopper,  or  the  aerial  velocity  of  the 
dragonfly  are  continual  sources  of  enjoyment  for  these  active 
little  creatures.  Thus  every  tree,  every  shrub,  every  flower  by 
the  roadside  is  the  residence  or  the  food  of  numbers  of  tiny 
beings  to  whom  existence  is  a  pleasure.  We  surely  do  not 
require  the  dryads  or  the  nymphs  of  the  ancients  to  animate 
our  groves  and  fields,  or  to  lend  a  voice  to  dumb  Nature;  the  aid 
of  mythological  fictions  is  superfluous  where  such  an  exuberance 
of  life  bursts  forth  from  every  plant,  and  sings  the  praises  of  the 
Creator.  As  soon  as  the  morning  sun  gilds  the  summits  of 
the  mountains,  millions  of  insects  awake  and  stretch  their  limbs, 
or  expand  their  wings  to  enjoy  the  light  of  day ;  the  evening 
calls  forth  new  legions  from  the  shady  recesses  of  the  forest,  and 
even  the  dark  night  rejoices  in  children  of  her  own. 

In  the  glowing  noonday  heat  of  summer  all  nature  seems 
indeed  to  sleep :  the  birds  are  silent,  and  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
forest  retire  to  their  lairs ;  but  even  then  an  attentive  ear  is  still 
able  to  distinguish  among  the  shrubs  and  herbage  the  low  con- 
fused hum  of  numberless  insects.  Thus  at  all  hours  their  voices 
eloquently  proclaim  the  universality  of  life,  and  the  grandeur  of 
the  Deity  from  whom  all  life  proceeds  ! 

On  surveying  the  distribution  of  the  two  great  divisions  of 
the  insect  world  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  we  find  new  reasons 
to  admire  His  wisdom  and  beneficence.  Thus  in  the  loftier 
Alps,  where  the  growth  of  trees  is  reduced  to  stunted  proportions, 
but  where  the  meadows  are  still  covered  with  a  variety  of  beauti- 
ful sweet-scented  flowers,  and  afford  the  finest  pasture  to  nume- 
rous herds,  the  species  of  the  carnivorous  insects  are  at  least  four 
times  more  numerous  than  the  herbivora,  many  of  which  do  not 
ascend  into  the  higher  regions.  This  predominance  of  the 
former  is  evidently  intended  to  keep  in  check  the  enemies  of 
vegetation,  which  at  this  considerable  elevation,  where  the  sum- 
mer is  but  short  and  insectivorous  birds  are  rare,  requires  a 
greater  protection  than  in  the  lowlands.  Supposing  the  propor- 
tion reversed,  then  the  Alpine  meadows  would  no  longer  be  able 
to  sustain  those  numerous  herds  which  are  the  pride  of  Switzer- 
land ;  and  regions  which  now  largely  contribute  to  the  welfare 
of  the  human  race  would  lose  a  great  part  of  their  value,  and  be 
converted  into  the  worthless  feeding-ground  of  a  lower  class  of 
animals. 


INSTINCT   OF   INSECTS.  219 

In  the  insect  world  the  wonders  of  instinct  may  truly  be  said 
to  have  reached  their  highest  development,  as  if  Providence  had 
wished  to  indemnify  these  little  creatures  for  their  want  of  phy- 
sical strength  by  the  sharpening  of  their  intellectual  faculties. 
Like  the  protecting  aegis  of  Minerva,  instinct  preserves  the 
insect  from  a  thousand  dangers,  teaches  it  to  seek  its  food  in 
the  most  profitable  manner,  accompanies  it  throughout  the 
various  phases  of  its  life,  watches  over  the  infant  brood,  and 
even  compels  the  individual  to  subordinate  his  whole  exist- 
ence to  the  welfare  of  the  state  or  community  of  which  he  forms 
a  part. 

How  beautiful  is  the  care  which  the  insects  bestow  upon  their 
progeny ! — how  admirable  the  instinct  which  teaches  them  to 
lay  their  eggs  in  those  places  where  the  larvae  as  soon  as  they 
come  forth  are  sure  to  find  the  most  appropriate  food  ! 

At  the  beginning  of  August,  when  the  fruits  of  the  nut-tree 
are  still  young  and  tender,  the  nut-weevil  (Balaninus  nucum) 
pierces  the  soft  rind  with  her  long  slender  snout,  deposits 
her  egg  in  the  puncture,  and  continues  this  operation  until  her 
whole  provision  is  exhausted.  The  nut,  being  but  slightly  injured, 
continues  to  grow  and  ripen  for  the  benefit  of  the  larva,  which 
feeds  deliciously  upon  the  kernel  in  which  it  is  imbedded. 
When  in  autumn  the  nut  drops  upon  the  ground,  it  creeps  out 
of  its  snug  little  nursery,  and  immediately  burrows  into  the 
earth,  where  it  assumes  the  pupa  state,  and  in  the  following 
summer  comes  forth  as  a  perfect  insect. 

Another  species  of  rynchophorous  insects,  the  rynchites 
auratus,  seeks  the  sunny  side  of  an  apple,  detaches  a  small 
piece  of  the  skin,  lays  an  egg  in  a  little  hole  which  it  hollows 
out,  and  then  covers  it  again  so  carefully  with  the  detached  rind 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  out  the  place.  The  larva 
does  not  live  upon  the  fleshy  part  of  the  fruit,  but  bores  its  way 
to  the  kernels ;  and  after  having  devoured  them  again  pierces 
the  apple,  and  dropping  down  undergoes  its  pupal  transforma- 
tion in  the  earth. 

The  rynchites  betulae  divides  the  borders  of  the  birch-leaves 
in  a  most  artistical  manner,  so  as  to  be  able  to  roll  them  up 
into  a  funnel,  in  which  it  deposits  an  egg.  At  the  same  time  it 
also  partially  cuts  through  the  middle  rib  of  the  leaf,  so  as  to 
cause  it  gradually  to  wither.  When  the  larva  comes  forth,  it  thus 


220  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

finds  the  dried  leaf-substance  on  which  it  feeds  ready  prepared  for 
its  use ;  and  after  having  exhausted  its  stores,  drops  down  to 
seek  a  new  refuge  in  the  bosom  of  mother  earth.  The  rynchites 
betuleti,  which  is  very  destructive  in  the  vineyards  of  the  Ehine 
and  the  Moselle,  is  equally  clever  in  rolling  together  several  of 
the  top-leaves  of  a  branch  like  a  cigar,  by  covering  their  borders 
with  a  glutinous  substance,  and  then  smoothing  them  down  with 
the  hind-part  of  its  body. 

A  great  number  of  similar  examples  might  be  cited  among 
the  rynchophorous  insects  alone,  of  which  more  than  7,000 


Calandra  longipes. 

species  have  already  been  described  by  entomologists  :  but  not 
to  tire  the  reader  I  shall  merely  remark,  that  wherever  they 
deposit  their  eggs,  in  blossoms  or  in  leaves,  in  fruits  or  in  seeds, 
in  branches  or  in  roots,  it  is  al  way  s%  done  with  the  same  admira- 
ble prevision,  as  if  they  were  endowed  with  an  intuitive  know- 
ledge of  the  development  of  vegetation  and  the  progress  of  the 
seasons. 

The  dung-feeding  lamellicorns  provide  in  a  different  but  no 
less  ingenious  manner  for  the  future  wants  of  their  progeny,  by 
rolling  balls  of  excrementitious  matter  in  which  they  enclose 
their  eggs.  These  balls  are  at  first  irregular  and  soft,  but  by 
degrees,  and  during  the  process  of  rolling  along,  become  rounded 
and  harder ;  they  are  propelled  by  means  of  the  hind-legs ;  and 
the  insects  occasionally  mount  to  the  top  when  they  find  a 
difficulty  of  urging  them  along,  probably  in  order  to  destroy  the 
equilibrium.  Sometimes  these  balls  are  an  inch  and  a-half  or 
even  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  in  rolling  them  along,  the 


THE   SEXTON-BEETLE.  221 

beefles  stand  almost  on  their  heads,  with  their  heads  turned 
from  the  balls.  These  manoeuvres  have  for  their  object  the 
burying  of  the  balls  in  deep  holes,  which  the  insects  have  pre- 
viously dug  for  their  reception,  and  it  is  upon  the  dung  thus 
deposited  that  the  larvae  when  hatched  feed. 

Sheltered  from  the  frosts  of  winter  in  their  subterraneous  re- 
treats, they  lead  a  life  of  darkness  in  the  midst  of  the  abundance 
which  the  labours  of  their  parents  have  stored 
up  for  their  use ;  but  as  soon  as  warm  spring 
knocks  as  it  were  at  their  door,  to  invite  them  to 
exchange  their  gloomy  abodes  for  the  light  of  day? 
they  eagerly  creep  forth  in  a  more  perfect  form 
to  enjoy  the  cheerful  rays  of  the  sun,  and  to  labour 
in  their  turn  for  the  wants  of  a  new  generation. 

Sacred  Beetle. 

On  account  of  this  provident  care  for  its  young,  CAteuchua  sacer.) 
the  '  Ateuchus  sacer'  was  revered  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  as 
one  of  their  sacred  animals,  and  its  image,  carved  in  stone  or 
metal,  is  frequently  found  rolled  up  in  the  mummies  of  that 
remarkable  race. 

The  necrophori,  or  sexton-beetles,  inter  in  a  similar  manner 
the  bodies  of  small  animals  in  which  they  lay  their  eggs. 
During  the  day  they  are  generally  quiet, 
but  in  the  evening  they  begin  to  be 
active.  To  dig  a  hole,  and  then  to  drag 
the  bird  or  mouse  they  may  have  selected 
as  the  object  of  their  labours  into  it, 
would  be  a  task  far  beyond  their  powers, 
and  they  therefore  employ  another  plan. 
They  entirely  burrow  beneath  the  car- 
case, emerging  every  now  and  then  to  Necrophorua 
scrape  out  the  loose  soil,  walk  round  it, 

mount  as  if  to  see  how  the  work  is  proceeding,  and  then  dis- 
appear afresh  and  renew  their  labours  until  the  hole  is  large 
enough  to  allow  the  bird  to  sink  into  the  required  position. 
The  time  occupied  in  the  transaction  naturally  varies  according 
to  the  size  of  the  object,  the  number  of  the  labourers,  and 
the  nature  of  the  soil ;  but,  on  an  average,  an  ordinary  finch  or 
a  mouse  can  be  buried  in  the  course  of  a  day.  When  the  task 
is  completed,  a  number  of  eggs  are  laid  upon  the  buried  animal, 
and  then  the  beetles  emerge,  cover  it  with  earth,  and  fly  away. 


222  THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

Astonishing  but  well-authenticated  accounts  have  been  given 
of  the  sagacious  industry  with  which  these  little  creatures  ac- 
complish labours  which  must  be  to  them  enormous.  They  will 
bury  not  one  but  a  whole  series  of  corpses;  and  in  the  well- 
known  experiments  of  Mr.  Gleditsch,  four  beetles  buried  in  a 
small  piece  of  earth  four  fishes,  three  birds,  two  grasshoppers, 
one  mole,  the  entrails  of  a  fish,  and  part  of  the  lungs  of  an  ox. 
Now  the  mole  is  at  least  forty  times  as  large  as  the  beetle,  so 
that  we  can  estimate  the  strength  and  perseverance  of  the  beetle 
by  calculating  the  labour  which  would  be  necessary  for  a  man 
to  inter  in  two  days  an  animal  forty  times  as  large  as  himself. 

But  these  indefatigable  insects  are  remarkable  not  only  for 
their  industry  but  also  for  their  intelligence,  of  which  truly  sur- 
prising instances  have  been  observed. 

Thus  Clairville  once  saw  a  sexton-beetle,  which,  finding  a  dead 
mouse  too  heavy  to  be  removed,  flew  away  and  soon  after  re- 
turned with  four  others,  who  with  united  strength  now  dragged 
away  and  buried  the  mouse. 

Grleditsch  relates  that  one  of  his  friends  being  desirous  to 
dry  a  toad  tied  it  to  the  upper  end  of  a  stick,  which  he  fixed  in 
the  ground  to  prevent  the  necrophori  from  getting  hold  of  it. 
But  this  precaution  proved  perfectly  vain ;  for  the  intelligent 
insects,  finding  the  toad  beyond  their  reach,  dug  up  the  earth 
round  the  stick,  and  having  thus  caused  it  to  fall,  buried  it 
together  with  the  toad. 

The  same  intelligence  was  shown  by  a  dung-beetle  (Gymno- 
pleurus  pUlularius),  who  being  unable  to  move  a  stercoraceous 
ball  on  which  he  had  been  labouring  from  a  hole  into  which  it- 
had  fallen,  immediately  flew  to  a  neighbouring  heap  of  dung, 
whence  he  fetched  three  other  beetles,  who  having  lent  their 
assistance  returned  to  their  own  work. 

Like  their  parents,  the  larvae  of  the  necrophori  live  only  upon 
animal  substances,  so  that  the  mother  has  merely  to  provide  her 
offspring  with  the  food  she  relishes  herself;  but  in  other  cases 
we  find,  by  a  still  more  astonishing  instinct,  insects  herbivorous 
in  the  perfect  state  supplying  in  a  similar  manner  the  wants  of 
their  carnivorous  larvae. 

In  her  full-grown  state  the  sand-wasp  (Sphex)  lives  upon  the 
nectareous  secretions  of  flowers,  but  her  larvas  have  a  far  grosser 
appetite,  and,  like  the  meat-fly,  delight  in  sipping  animal  juices. 


SAND-WASPS. 


223 


Who  would  not  expect  that  the  mother,  judging  of  her  offspring's 
appetite  by  her  own,  would  set  before  them  her  favourite 
dainties  of  roses  or  apple-blossoms  ?  But  she  is  taught  that 
her  little  ones  have  a  far  different  taste  ;  and  thus,  after  having 
dug  a  hole  with  her  forefeet,  scratching  the  earth  like  a  terrier 
in  pursuit  of  a  mouse,  she  fetches  a  spider  or  a  caterpillar,  and, 
not  seldom  after  a  hard  scuffle,  drags  her  victim  to  the  grave 
she  has  provided  for  its  interment.  She  bites  it  in  the  neck,  so 
as  to  paralyse  its  resistance,  but  takes  good  care  not  to  kill  it ; 
and  having  laid  a  single  egg  upon  its  body,  covers  it  up  and 
flies  away. 

The  maggot  on  creeping  forth  immediately  bites  a  hole  in  the 
body  of  the  spider,  which  her  mother — a  disinterested  assassin  ! 
—had  wounded  for  her  sake,  and  begins  to  suck  the  juices  of 
the  victim  with  the  same  eagerness  as  a  leech  feasting  on 
human  blood.  In  a  few  days  the  exhausted  spider  expires,  and 
then  the  maggot  devours  the  flesh  and  skin,  leaving  nothing  but 
the  hardest  parts  untouched. 

The  ichneumon-fly  does  not  give  itself  the  trouble  to 
overpower  the  victims  destined  for  the  food  of  its  larvae,  and 
to  drag  them  away  to  a  subterraneous  den, 
but  follows  the  easier  plan  of  depositing 
its  eggs  in  the  bodies  of  other  living  insects, 
particularly  those  of  caterpillars.  For  this 
purpose  many  species  are  provided  with  a 
strong  and  sharp  abdominal  tube  or  ovi- 
positor, which  is  used  to  insert  their  eggs 
in  the  bodies  of  caterpillars  that  live  beneath 
the  bark  or  crevices  of  wood.  This  is  gene- 
rally long,  and  capable  of  piercing  almost 
any  substance ;  while  such  as  have  a  short 
ovipositor  place  their  eggs  in  or  upon  those 
caterpillars  to  which  they  have  easy  access. 

Some  which  select  the  eggs    of  butter-  ichneumon-fly.  <pimpia 
flies  for  the  residence  of  their    ova  are  so 
small  that  they  are  scarcely  perceptible  with    the    naked  eye, 
while   others  again  from  their  size  and  strength  are  formida- 
ble even    to   the   large    spiders,   destroying  them   with    their 
powerful  stings.     Someplace  their  eggs  within  the  aurelia  of 
a   nascent  insect—others  deposit  them  within  the  nest  which 


224.  THE    HARMONIES   OF    NATURE. 

the  wasp  has  contrived  for  her  young ;  and  as  both  are  produced 
at  the  same  time,  the  offspring  of  the  ichneumon  not  only 
devour  the  young  wasps,  but  also  the  whole  supply  of  larva) 
which  the  parent  had  carefully  provided  for  their  support. 

Thus  these  active  flies,  which  in  their  perfect  state  feed 
solely  upon  the  juices' of  flowers,  render  almost  the  whole  of  the 
insect  world  tributary  to  the  wants  of  their  larvae ;  and  as  Ger- 
many alone  possesses  above  5,000  species  of  ichneumonidae, 
it  may  easily  be  imagined  how  terrible  they  must  be  to  the 
other  insect-tribes,  and  consequently  also  how  useful  to  man- 
kind, by  their  destruction  of  myriads,  which  would  otherwise 
be  left  to  banquet  on  the  fruits  of  the  earth  !  The  ichneu- 
mon larvae,  thus  born  in  a  living  body,  subsist  on  the  juices  of 
their  victim,  but  without  absolutely  destroying  it — in  fact,  the 
animal  they  infest  may  continue  to  live  for  some  time,  thus 
affording  them  a  continued  supply  of  nutriment ;  but  when  the 
ichneumons  are  ready  to  undergo  their  last  metamorphosis,  they 
pierce  the  skin  of  their  now  useless  victim,  and  each,  spinning 
itself  in  a  small  oval  case,  changes  into  a  chrysalis — the  whole 
number  forming  a  group  on  the  shrivelled  body  of  the  unfortu- 
nate caterpillar. 

The  oestri  or  breeze-flies  likewise  deposit  their  eggs  in  or  upon 
living  animals,  but  instead  of  choosing,  like  the  ichneumon- 
flies,  other  insects  for  their  victims,  they  ambitiously  select 
large  quadrupeds  for  the  future  provision  of  their  young — each 
species  almost  invariably  confining  its  attacks  to  a  certain 
species  of  animal.  The  larvae  of  the  equine  breeze-fly,  or  bot 
as  it  is  usually  termed,  can  only  be  developed  in  the  stomach  of 
the  horse,  and  it  may  well  be  asked  how  they  are  able  to  reach 
these  hidden  pasture-grounds,  so  indispensable  to  their  exist- 
ence. But  Providence  has  found  the  way  by  teaching  the 
breeze-fly  to  deposit  her  eggs  on  those  parts  of  the  horse's  body 
which  are  most  likely  to  be  nibbled  by  the  animal.  When  the 
eggs  have  remained  on  the  hairs  four  or  five  days,  they  become 
mature,  after  which  time  the  slightest  application  of  heat  and 
moisture  is  sufficient  to  bring  forth  in  an  instant  the  latent  larva. 

At  this  time  if  the  lips  or  tongue  of  the  horse  touch  the  egg, 
its  operculum  is  thrown  open,  and  the  young  larva  liberated ; 
which  readily  adhering  to  the  moist  surface  of  the  tongue,  is 
from  thence  conveyed  with  the  food  to  the  stomach,  when  it 


PARENTAL   AFFECTION    OF    INSECTS.  225 

has  full  leisure  to  acquire  maturity.  Having  attained  this 
object,  it  abandons  the  dwelling  of  its  youth,  and  falling  to  the 
ground,  soon  finds  a  convenient  retreat  for  undergoing  its  change 
into  a  chrysalis. 

Generally  the  insects,  after   having  once  provided  for   the 
future  wants  of  their  progeny,  by  laying  their  eggs  on  (or  in) 
such  substances  as  will  afterwards  afford  them  a  fitting  suste- 
nance, take  no  further  care  of  them  ;  yet  many  instances  may  be 
adduced,  in  which  they  give  marks  of  a  real  parental  affection. 
Thus  the  earwig  sits  on  her  eggs  in  the  manner  of  a  hen  until 
they  are  hatched,  and  then  continues  to  brood  over  her  young 
with   affectionate  assiduity,  continuing  frequently  in  the  same 
sitting  posture  for  hours,  allowing  them  to  push  her  about,  and 
cautiously  moving  one  foot  after  another,  for  fear  of  hurting  them. 
Baron  de  Greer,  a  distinguished  pupil  of  the  celebrated  Linnaeus, 
finding  one  in  this  position,  removed  it  into  a  box,  in  different 
parts  of  which  he  scattered  the  eggs.     The  mother,  however, 
speedily  gathered  them  in  her  jaws  into  a  heap,  and  sat  on  them 
as  before. 

A  species  of  field-bug  (Cimex  griseus)  brings  up  her  family, 
which  generally  consists  of  thirty  or  forty  young,  leading  them 
about  as  a  hen  does  her  chickens,  and  never  leaving  them  for  a 
moment. 

De  Greer  having  once,  with  all  the  cruelty  of  an  inquisitive 
naturalist,  disturbed  one  of  these  happy  families,  which  had 
settled  upon  the  branch  of  a  birch-tree,  the  mother  showed 
every  symptom  of  excessive  uneasiness,  and  far  from  attempting 
to  escape  from  her  tormentor,  who  to  her  must  have  seemed  a 
terrible  monster,  continued  close  to  her  little  ones,  incessantly 
flapping  her  wings  as  if  to  preserve  them  from  danger. 

Many  insects  are  not  satisfied  with  burrowing  holes,  in  which 
they  deposit  their  eggs,  but  evince  a  remarkable  architectural 
skill  in  building  cells  for  their  reception.  Thus  the  mole-cricket 
forms  a  cavity  of  clammy  earth,  in  which  she  deposits  about 
150  eggs;  this  nest,  which  is  about  the  size  of  a  common  hen's 
egg,  is  carefully  closed  up  on  every  side,  as  well  to  defend  its 
contents  from  the  injury  of  the  weather,  as  to  guard  them  from 
the  attacks  of  common  beetles;  which,  being  themselves  un- 
derground inhabitants,  would  certainly,  but  for  this  precaution, 
either  devour  or  destro  them. 


226 


THE    HARMONIES   OP   NATUEE. 


Nothing  can  exceed  her  care  in  the  preservation  of  her  young. 
Wherever  a  nest  is  situated,  fortifications,  avenues,  and  entrench- 
ments surround  it;  there  are  also  numerous  winding  byways 
which  lead  to  it,  and  a  ditch  encompasses  the  whole,  which  few 
insects  are  capable  of  passing.  But  the  diligence  of  these 
little  animals  does  not  end  here :  at  the  approach  of  winter,  they 
move  their  nests  entirely  away,  and  sink  them  deeper  in  the 
ground,  to  prevent  the  frost  from  retarding  the  progress  of  their 
young  brood  to  maturity.  When  the  weather  grows  milder,  they 
raise  their  habitations  in  proportion,  till  at  last  they  are  brought 
as  near  the  surface  as  possible  without  being  wholly  exposed  to 
view,  in  order  to  receive  the  genial  influence  of  the  sun ;  but 
should  the  frost  unexpectedly  return,  they  again  sink  them  to 
their  former  depth. 

The  Pelopseus  or  Dirt-dauber  constructs  earthen  cells,  arranged 


Nests  of  the  Trypoxylon  and  Pelopseus. 

side  by  side,  which  it  sticks  on  walls  and  rafters ;  and  the  Try- 
poxylon figulus  makes  similar  nests,  with  necks  so  very  narrow 
in  proportion  to  their  size,  and  the  rim  so  neatly  turned  over, 
that  the  work  would  do  credit  to  the  most  skilful  potter. 

Several  other  genera  of  wasps   and  bees  are  remarkable  for 
their  clay-built  constructions  ;  but  the  manner   in   which  the 


NESTS    OF    THE    MEGACHIL^E.  227 

Megachilse  or  Leaf-cutters  form  their  nests,  is  still  more  admir- 
able. After  the  insect  has  bored  a  hole  of  suitable  dimensions 
in  some  old  tree,  she  sets  off  in  search  of  the  materials  for  the 
cells,  and  mostly  betakes  herself  to  a  rosebush  or  laburnum. 
Her  process,  in  cutting  the  pieces  of  leaf  that  compose  her  nest, 
is  worthy  of  attention.  Nothing  can  be  more  expeditious — she 
is  not  longer  about  it  than  we  should  be  with  a  pair  of  scissors. 
"After  hovering  for  some  moments  over  a  rosebush, as  if  to  recon- 
noitre the  ground,  the  bee  alights  upon  the  leaf  she  has  selected, 
usually  taking  her  station  upon  its  edge,  so  that  the  margin 
passes  between  her  legs.  With  her  strong  mandibles  she  cuts 
without  intermission  in  a  curve-line,  so  as  to  detach  a  triangular 
portion.  When  this  hangs  by  the  last  fibre,  she  balances  her 
little  wings  for  flight,  lest  its  weight  should  carry  her  to  the 
ground,  and  the  very  moment  it  parts  from  the  leaf,  flies  off  with 
it  in  triumph ;  the  detached  portion  remaining  bent  between  her 
legs,  in  a  direction  perpendicular  to  the  body.  Thus  without  rule 
and  compass  do  these  diminutive  creatures  mete  out  the  materials 
of  their  work,  into  portions  of  an  ellipse,  in  ovals  or  circles, 
accurately  accommodating  the  dimensions  of  the  several  pieces 
of  each  figure  to  each  other.  What  other  architect  could  carry, 
impressed  upon  the  tablet  of  his  memory,  the  entire  idea  of  the 
edifice  which  he  has  to  erect,  and,  destitute  of  square  and  plumb- 
line,  cut  out  his  materials  in  their  exact  dimensions  without 
making  a  single  mistake  ?  Yet  this  is  what  a  little  bee  invari- 
ably does!"* 

The  fashion  after  which  she  arranges  her  nest  is  equally 
curious.  Bending  each  leaf  into  a  curved  form,  she  presses 
them  successively  into  the  burrow,  in  such  a  way  that  they  fit 
into  one  another,  and  form  a  small  thimble-shaped  cell.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  cell  she  places  an  egg  and  some  bee-bread,  a 
composition  of  pollen  and  honey,  and  then  sets  to  work  upon 
another  cell ;  and  in  this  manner  she  proceeds,  until  she  has 
made  a  series  of  cells,  some  two  inches  in  length.  The  leaves 
are  adjusted  together  so  admirably,  that  although  not  covered 
with  any  coating  of  gum,  they  are  honey-tight. 

The  tunnels  of  the  carpenter-bees  are  likewise  most  wonder- 
ful instances  of  instinct.  When  the  little  architect  has  fixed 
upon  a  piece  of  wood  which  suits  her  purpose,  she  first  bores 

*  Kirby  and  Spence's  Entomology. 
O  2 


228  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

a  circular  hole,  in  a  horizontal  direction,  and  large  enough  to 
allow  her  to  pass  ;  then  turns  at  an  angle,  and  drives  her  tunnel, 

frequently  above  a  foot 
long,  parallel  to  the  grain 
of  the  wood,  and  with  a 
passage  at  the  lower  end 
similar  to  the  entrance  at 
the  top.  None  of  the 
detached  fragments  are 

wasted,  but  all  are  care- 
carpenter  Bee. 

fully  laid   aside  in   some 

sheltered  spot.  The  tunnel  being  completed,  the  industrious  bee 
now  sets  forth  in  quest  of  honey  and  pollen,  and  making  a 
little  heap  at  the  bottom  of  the  excavation,  deposits  an  egg 
upon  the  store.  Over  this  she  then  proceeds  to  build  a  ceiling, 
which  shall  be  also  the  floor  of  another  cell. 

For  this  purpose  she  goes  off  to  the  magazine  of  wood-chips, 
which  she  has  laid  by  with  such  provident  care,  and  cementing 
them  together  with  a  glutinous  substance,  probably  secreted  by 
herself,  fixes  them  in  a  ring,  above  the  heap  of  pollen.  A 
second  ring  is  then  placed  within  the  first,  and  so  on,  till  the 
flat  ceiling  is  completed.  In  this  manner  at  least  a  dozen  com- 
partments are  made,  one  above  the  other,  and  all  completed  by 
the  mandibles  alone,  which  are  admirably  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  working  out  the  tunnels  required — being  short,  stout, 
and  usually  furnished  at  the  tip  with  two  teeth,  which  are 
rounded  somewhat  into  the  form  of  cheese-cutters.  These, 
when  brought  into  operation,  cut  out  the  wood  in  the  same  way 
as  a  carpenter's  double  gouge,  the  teeth  being  more  or  less 
hollowed  out  within.  When  the  larvas  are  full-grown,  they 
assume  their  pupa  state,  head  downward,  so  as  to  allow  the 
oldest  and  lowermost  to  make  its  way  out  of  the  bottom  of  the 
burrow  as  soon  as  it  becomes  winged,  an  event  which  consequently 
takes  place  earlier  than  in  those  which  occupy  the  upper  cells. 

If  all  these  burrows  and  buildings  in  earth  and  wood,  this 
leafy  tapestry  made  by  single  insects,  may  well  be  called  master- 
pieces of  animal  industry,  what  terms  must  we  use  to  express 
our  admiration  of  the  labours  of  the  sociable  wasps,  bees,  ants, 
and  termites,  the  mysteries  of  whose  architectural  instinct 
human  understanding  is  utterly  unable  to  fathom  !  Implicitly 


WASPS   AND    TERMITES. 


229 


obeying  the  laws  which  Divine  Providence  has  engrafted  in 
their  little  brain,  these  truly  wondrous  creatures  devote  their 
whole  life  to  the  welfare  of  the  next  generation  ;  and  either 
to  protect  the  young  from  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather  and 
the  assaults  of  their  enemies,  or  to  secure  the  provisions 


Wasps'  Nest. 

which  they  accumulate  for  their  use,  build  or  raise,  by  the 
united  efforts  of  many  thousands,  habitations  which  equal  the 
most  artificially-constructed  birds'  nests,  or  even  surpass 
them  by  the  complication  and  mathematical  precision  of  their 
structure  ! 

To  add  to  the  wonders  of  these  marvellous  buildings,  it  should 
be  remembered  that  the  species  of  their  constructors  are  very 
numerous,  each  species  indulging  in  its  own  modifications  of 


230 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


architecture — some  rearing  their  palaces  in  caves,  others  sus- 
pending them  from  trees ;  some  covering  them  with  domes, 
others  attaching  them  to  roofs  or  rafters ;  so  that  we  have  here, 
not  three  or  four,  but  a  whole  series  of  insect-towns,  varying 
according  to  circumstances,  but  in  each  case  impressed  with  the 
stamp  of  perfection. 

Among  the  various  structures  of  the  social  wasps,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  is  that  of  the  Chartergus  nidulans,  a  native  of 


Nest  of  Chartergus  Nidulans. 

America,  which  is  formed  of  a  beautifully-polished  white  and  solid 
pasteboard,  impenetrable  by  the  weather.  These  nests  are  pen- 
dulous, and  attached  to  branches  of  trees  ;  the  hole  through  which 
the  branch  is  passed  being  very  large,  £o  as  to  permit  the  nest 
to  swing  freely  in  the  wind.  The  dimensions  are  extremely  vari- 
able, from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet  in  length,  each  structure 
appearing  to  be  capable  of  unlimited  enlargement;  for  when 
the  increasing  population  of  the  commonwealth  renders  addi- 
tional accommodation  necessary,  the  little  architects,  taking  the 
bottom  of  the  nest  as  the  starting-point,  build  upon  it  a  new 
series  of  hexagonal  cells,  opening  downwards,  as  in  most  other 
nests  constructed  by  the  Vespidse.  At  each  enlargement  of  the 
colony,  they  take  care  to  add  another  row  or  two  to  the  circum- 


HABITATIONS    OF   ANTS.  231 

ference,  so  as  to  increase  the  diameter  in  proportion  to  the 
length  ;  then  fresh  material  is  added  to  the  outer  wall,  which 
is  lengthened  so  as  to  include  the  new  tier  of  cells ;  and  thus  the 
bottom  is  closed  with  a  new  floor  (about  half  an  inch  distant  from 
the  opening  of  the  cells),  which  in  its  turn  will  become  the 
ceiling  of  the  next  storey.  Each  of  the  combs  which  thus  rise 
tier  above  tier  in  the  cavity  of  the  bell- shaped  nest,  has  a  central 
hole,  through  which  access  is  obtained  to  the  uppermost  stories 
of  the  edifice ;  and  though  darkness  reigns  within,  yet  such  is 
the  instinctive  order  which  prevails,  that  thousands  move  about 
without  one  disturbing  the  other. 

The  history  of  the  wonderful  domestic  economy  of  the  hive- 
bee  has  been  too  often  described,  and  is  too  well  known  to  be 
repeated  here ;  whole  volumes  have  been  written  on  the  sub- 
ject without  exhausting  its  mysteries,  many  natural  philoso- 
phers have  devoted  half  their  lives  to  its  study,  and  yet  every 
new  observer  finds  occasion  to  point  out  some  fresh  marvel  in 
these  wonderful  annals.  Indeed,  the  whole  life  of  these  little 
creatures  is  nothing  but  a  continued  series  of  wonders. 

When  we  consider  that  the  family  of  ants,  undoubtedly  the 
most  numerous  of  any  in  the  whole  circle  of  winged  insects, 
spreads  in  several  thousands  of  species  over  almost  every  part 
of  the  habitable  globe,  and  that  each  species  delights  in  its  own 
modifications  of  structure,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  architec- 
tural details  of  these  insect-cities  are  but  imperfectly  known, 
(particularly  when  we  bear  in  mind  that  most  of  them  are 
situated  in  the  wilds  of  the  torrid  zone,  which  are  frequently 
all  but  inaccessible  to  the  naturalist,  and  that  they  are  more- 
over extremely  well-guarded  by  the  formidable  mandibles  or 
pungent  stings  of  their  builders);  yet  from  the  little  we  do 
know  of  them,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  occupy  a 
high  rank  among  those  homes  without  hands,  which  animal 
instinct  rears  as  so  many  monuments  of  Divine  goodness  and 
wisdom. 

Some  form  globular  nests  (of  the  size  of  a  large  Dutch-cheese) 
of  small  twigs  artistically  interlaced ;  others  use  cotton,  and 
through  the  chemical  agency  of  their  pungent  secretions  con- 
vert it  into  a  spongy  substance.  Other  species,  still  more  in- 
genious, construct  their  domicile  out  of  a  large  leaf,  bending 
the  two  halves  by  the  weight  of  united  thousands,  till  the 


232  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

opposite  margins  meet   at   the   under-surface   of   the  midrib, 
where  they  are  secured  by  a  glutinous  matter. 


Nests  of  the  Fungus  Ant. 

The  Coushie  or  Sauba  Ant,  which  exists  in  Tropical  America 
in  boundless  profusion,  will  in  a  very  short  time  strip  off  the 
leaves  of  an  entire  field  and  carry  them  to  its  subterranean 
abodes.  Even  where  their  nest  is  a  mile  distant  from  a  planta- 
tion, these  depredators  know  how  to  find  it,  and  soon  form  a 
highway  about  half  a  foot  broad,  on  which  they  keep  up  the 
most  active  communications  with  the  object  of  their  attack.  In 
masterly  order,  side  by  side,  one  army  is  seen  to  move  onward 
towards  the  field,  while  another  is  returning  to  the  nest,  each 
individual  carrying  in  its  jaws  a  circular  piece  of  leaf,  about  the 
size  of  a  sixpence,  which  is  held  vertically  by  one  of  its  edges — 
a  circumstance  from  which  the  creature  is  also  called  the  parasol 
or  umbrella  ant.  If  the  distance  is  too  great,  a  party  meets  the 
weary  carriers  halfway  and  relieves  them  of  their  load.  Al- 
though innumerable  ants  may  thus  be  moving  along,  yet  none 
of  them  will  ever  be  seen  to  be  in  the  other's  way,  and  all  goes 
on  with  the  regularity  of  clockwork.  A  third  party  is  no  less 
actively  employed  on  the  scene  of  destruction,  cutting  out  cir- 
cular pieces  of  the  leaves,  which  as  soon  as  they  drop  upon  the 


MOUNDS    OF    THE    TERMITES.  233 

ground  are  immediately  seized  by  the  attentive  and  indefati- 
gable carriers. 

The  use  of  the  leaves  is  to  thatch  the  domes  of  their  curious 
edifices,  and  to  prevent  the  loose  earth  from  falling  in.  Some 
of  these  domes  are  of  great  size,  measuring  two  feet  in  height 
and  forty  feet  in  diameter ;  and  yet  they  are  still  far  surpassed 
in  extent  by  the  subterranean  galleries  which  these  indus- 
trious little  creatures  form,  and  whose  extent  may  be  con- 
jectured from  the  fact,  that  when  sulphur-smoke  was  blown 
into  a  nest,  one  of  the  outlets  was  detected  at  a  distance  of 
twenty  yards.  Division  of  labour  is  carried  out  to  a  wonderful 
extent  in  these  buildings,  for  the  labourers  which  gather 
and  fetch  the  leaves  do  not  place  them,  but  merely  fling  them 
down  on  the  ground,  and  leave  them  to  a  relay  of  workers,  who 
lay  them  in  their  proper  order.  As  soon  as  they  have  been 
arranged,  they  are  covered  with  little  globules  of  earth,  and  in 
a  very  short  time  they  are  quite  hidden  by  their  earthy  covering 

These  structures,  however  wonderful,  are  far  surpassed  by 
those  of  the  termites.  Their  cone-shaped  or  domelike  edifices 
rise  to  the  height  of  ten,  twelve,  or  even  twenty  feet,  with 
a  corresponding  diameter  ;  and  although  made  merely  of  clay, 
which  the  termites  excavate  with  their  mandibles  from  a  con- 
siderable depth  underground,  moistening  it  with  tenacious 
saliva,  their  strength  is  such  that  hunters  are  accustomed 
to  mount  upon  them  for  the  purpose  of  looking  out  for 
game ;  and  even  the  intense  rains  of  the  monsoons,  which  no 
cement  or  mortar  can  long  resist,  fail  to  penetrate  their  surface. 
Only  the  underpart  of  the  mound  is  inhabited  by  the  white 
ants,  the  upper  portion  serving  principally  as  a  defence  from 
the  weather,  and  to  keep  up  in  the  lower  part  the  warmth  and 
moisture  necessary  to  the  hatching  of  the  eggs  and  the  cherish- 
ing of  the  young  ones.  In  the  centre  and  almost  on  a  level 
with  the  ground  is  placed  the  sanctuary  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity—the large  cell,  where  the  queen  resides  with  her  consort, 
and  which  she  is  doomed  never  to  quit  again,  after  having  been 
once  enclosed  in  it  by  her  faithful  subjects,  since  the  portals 
soon  prove  too  narrow  for  her  rapidly-increasing  bulk.  En- 
circling the  regal  apartment  extends  a  labyrinth  of  countless 
chambers  and  nurseries,  all  connected  by  arched  galleries, 
long  passages,  and  doorways  of  the  most  intricate  and  elaborate 


234 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


constructions.  The  subterranean  passages  which  lead  from  the 
mound  are  hardly  less  remarkable  than  the  building  itself. 
Perfectly  cylindrical,  and  lined  with  a  cement  of  clay  similar  to 
that  of  which  the  hill  is  formed,  they  sometimes  measure  a  foot 
in  diameter.  They  run  in  a  sloping  direction  under  the  bottom 
of  the  hill,  to  a  depth  of  three  or  four  feet,  and  then  ramifying 


Mounds  of  the  Termites. 


horizontally  into  numerous  branches,  ultimately  rise  near  to  the 
surface  at  a  considerable  distance.  At  their  entrance  into  the 
interior  of  the  hill,  they  are  connected  with  a  great  number  of 
smaller  galleries,  which  ascend  the  inside  of  the  outer  shell  in  a 
spiral  manner,  and  winding  round  the  whole  building  to  the 
top,  intersect  each  other  at  different  heights,  opening  either 
immediately  into  the  dome  in  various  places,  and  into  the 
lower  part  of  the  building,  or  communicating  with  every  part 
of  it  by  other  smaller  circular  passages. 

If  the  colossal  structures  of  the  termites  are  worthy  of  our 
highest  admiration,  our  wonder  increases  when  we  consider  that 
all  these  labours  are  performed  in  total  darkness,  for  the  aston- 
ishing little  animals  are  constantly  working  underground. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

SPIDERS. 

Venomous  Apparatus — Spinnarets — The  Spider's  Web — Patience  of  the  Spiders — 
Hunting  Spiders — Trapdoor  Spiders — Water  Spiders — The  Haft  Spider — 
Enemies  of  the  Spiders — Fecundity — Maternal  Affection — The  Stalita  Tsenaria, 

INCAPABLE  of  muscular  exertion,  and  of  a  texture  so  loose  and 
soft  as  to  be  torn  to  pieces  or  crushed  by  the  slightest  degree  of 
force,  the  spiders  seem  exposed  to  every  attack ;  and  yet,  help- 
less and  harmless  a§  they  appear  to  be,  they  are  able  to  subdue 
animals  much  larger  than  themselves  ;  for  as  a  compensation 
for  their  weakness,  they  are  endowed  with  a  most  admirable  in- 
dustry, an  exemplary  patience,  an  indomitable  perseverance, 
and  the  power  of  secreting  two  liquids  which  fully  answer  all  the 
purposes  of  offence  or  defence  which  their  mode  of  life  requires. 
One  of  these  liquids  is  a  poison  which  at  once  paralyses  the 
resistance  of  their  prey,  and  acts  with  the  same  instantaneous 
and  fatal  effect  upon  a  fly  or  a  beetle  as  prussic-a 
acid  on  the  human  economy ;  the  other,  a  gluti- 
nous fluid,  which,  concreting  in  the  air,  forms 
those  silken  threads  which  their  wonderful  instinct 
turns  to  so  many  valuable  uses. 

The  structure  of  the  venomous  apparatus  of  the 
viper  is  justly  admired,  but  that  of  the  spider  is  a 
no  less  beautiful  piece  of  mechanism.  It  is  by  means 
of  the  two  mandibulse  or  forciples  with  which  their 
mouth  is  armed,that  they  inflict  their  deadly  wound. 
These  mandibles  are  each  armed  with  a  moveable 
and  extremely  sharp  claw  (a),  near  to  the  point  of  spider's  n 
which  is  a  minute  orifice  (6),  from  which  there  es-         fj&ajf* 
capes  a  drop  of  poisonous  liquid,  that  spreads  itself  over  the 
whole  wound  the  instant  that  it  is  inflicted.   This  orifice,  which 


236  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

is  so  extremely  minute  as  to  require  a  high  magnifying  power 
for  its  perception,  communicates  with  a  fine  or  narrow  excretory 
canal  (c)  situated  in  the  interior  of  the  mandible,  and  given  off 
from  the  true  secreting  organ — a  gland  (d)  lodged  in  the  inter- 
space of  the  muscles  of  the  thorax,  or  breast,  whose  compression 
causes  the  immediate  propulsion  of  the  liquid. 

A  still  more  wonderful  apparatus  is  that  which  serves  the 
spiders  for  the  formation  of  their  threads.  The  spinnarets,  or 
organs  which  emit  the  glutinous  fluid,  are  generally  six  in  num- 
ber, and  situated  at  the  posterior  part  of 
the  body.  Each  of  the  spinnarets  is  pierced 
by  an  infinite  number  of  small  holes,  or 
beset  with  hairy  appendages  terminating  in 
fine-drawn  points,  from  each  of  which  there 
escape  as  many  little  drops  of  a  liquid,  which 
becoming  dry  the  moment  it  is  in  contact 
spmnareis  with  the  air,  forms  so  many  delicate  threads. 
Immediately  after  the  filaments  have  passed 
out  of  the  pores  of  the  spinnaret,  they  unite  first  together  and 
then  with  those  of  the  neighbouring  spinnarets  to  form  a  com- 
mon thread;  so  that  the  thread  of  the  spider,  which  measures 
only  l-4000th  or  even  l-8000th  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  is  com- 
posed of  an  immense  number  of  minute  filaments,  perhaps 
several  thousand,  of  such  extreme  tenuity  that  the  eye  cannot 
detect  them  until  they  are  all  twisted  together  into  the 
working  thread* 

But  why  this  complicated  process,  it  may  be  asked ;  why  this 
original  excessive  subdivision  of  a  filament,  which,  when  com- 
plete, far  surpasses  in  fineness  the  finest  thread  which  can  pos- 
sibly be  spun  by  machinery  proceeding  from  human  hands  ? 
The  reason  is  obvious,  for  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  as 
soon  as  the  glutinous  fluid  emerged  from  the  body,  it  should 
instantly  consolidate  into  a  thread  firm  enough  to  be  worked  or 
not  to  give  way  too  suddenly  under  the  spider's  weight ;  and  it 
is  evident  that  by  its  extreme  division,  so  beautifully  provided 
for  by  the  microscopical  perforation  of  the  sievelike  spinnarets, 
the  process  of  desiccation,  having  a  larger  surface  to  act  upon, 
must  be  considerably  hastened.  Thus  there  is  nothing  super- 
fluous in  this  wonderful  mechanism,  which,  perfect  in  design 


SPINNING   OKGANS   OF   SPIDERS.  237 

and  in  every  detail,  could  only  have  been  planned  and  formed 
by  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  ! 

On  examining  the  uses  to  which  the  spiders  put  their  admir- 
able spinning  organs,  we  shall  find  in  every  case  the  workman 
worthy  of  his  tools.     When  a  house  or  common  spider  is  about 
to  form  a  web,  it  first  selects  some  commodious  and  secure  spot, 
where  insects  appear  to  be  in  sufficient  abundance.  It  then  distils 
a  small  drop  of  its  glutinous  liquid,  and  creeping  up  the  wall  and 
spinning  its  thread  as  it  proceeds,  darts  itself  in  a  very  surpris- 
ing manner  to  the  opposite  station,  where  the  other  end  of  the 
web  is  to  be  fastened.  The  first  thread  thus  spun,  drawn  tight  and 
fixed  at  each  end,  the  spider  runs  on  it  to  and  fro,  still  assiduously 
employed  in  doubling  and  strengthening  it,  as  on  its  force  the 
stability  of  the  whole  fabric  depends.    The  scaffolding  being  thus 
completed,  the  spider  draws  a  number  of  threads  parallel  to  and 
within  the  first  in  the  same  manner,  and  then  crosses  them  with 
others,  the  adhesive  substance  of  which  they  are  formed  serving 
to  bind  them  together  when  newly  spun.     This  operation  being 
completed,  the  industrious  little  architect  doubles  and  trebles 
the  thread  that  borders  its  web,  by  opening  all  its  papillaB  at 
once,  and  so  secures  the  edges  as  to  prevent  the  wind  from  dis- 
placing the  work.     The  edges  being  thus  fortified,  the  retreat  is 
next  to  be  attended  to ;  and  this  is  formed  like  a  funnel,  where 
the  little  workman  lies  concealed.     To  this  there  are  two  pas- 
sages or  outlets,  one  above  and  the  other  below,  very  artfully 
contrived  to  allow  the  animal  an  opportunity  of  making  excur- 
sions in  every  direction.     Frequently  also,  from  the  main  web, 
there  are  several  threads  extended  at  some  distance  on  each 
side,  like  the  cordage  of  a  ship  ;  this  may  be  considered  as  the 
outworks  of  the  fortification,  which  whenever   touched   from 
without,  instantly  communicate  the  intelligence  by  the  vibration 
of  the  net,  and  bid  the  lurking  spider  prepare  for  attack  or  self- 
defence.     If  the  insect  impinging  happens  to  be  a  fly,  the  con- 
cealed assassin  instantly  springs  forward  to  pierce  it  with  his 
murderous  mandibles  ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  perceives  an 
enemy  stronger  than  himself,  he  then,  considering  discretion  to 
be  the  better  part  of  valour,  keeps  quietly  within  his  fortress, 
and  never  stirs  till  the  storm  is  blown  over. 

If  the  web  has  been  destroyed,  the  spider  is  able  to  renew  it 


238  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

twice  or  thrice  from  its  glutinous  stores  ;  but  after  that  its  sup- 
plies are  exhausted,  and  then  it  must  either  die  of  hunger,  or 
conquer  another  net,  after  having  defeated  the  rightful  owner 
in  mortal  combat;  or  endeavour  to  find  an  empty  web,  which  is 
not  so  very  difficult,  as  the  young  spiders  construct  two  nets. 

The  Grarden  Spider,  which  suspends  its  vertical  or  oblique 
web  in  open  space,  works  in  a  different  manner.  It  spins  a  large 
quantity  of  thread,  which  floating  in  the  air  in  various  directions, 
happens  from  its  glutinous  quality  at  last  to  adhere  to  some  ob- 
ject near  it  —  a  wall  or  the  branch  of  a  tree.  The  spider  is 
anxious  to  have  one  end  of  the  line  fixed,  that  it  may  be  enabled 
to  secure  and  tighten  the  other  ;  it  accordingly  draws  the  line 
when  thus  fixed,  and  then  by  passing  or  repassing  it,  strengthens 
the  thread  in  such  a  manner  as  to  answer  all  its  intentions. 
The  first  cord  being  thus  stretched,  the  spider  walks  along  a 
part  of  it  and  there  fastens  another  ;  and  dropping  from  thence, 
affixes  the  thread  to  some  solid  body  below;  then  climbs  up 
again  and  begins  a  third,  which  it  fastens  by  a  similar  con- 
trivance. 

Witjrin  this  framework,  which  unites  strength  and  elasticity 
in  a  remarkable  degree,  and  though  yielding  to  the  slightest 
pressure  immediately  recovers  its  position,  the  spider  now 
begins  to  spin  its  beautiful  network,  composed  of  a  number  of 
straight  lines  radiating  from  a  common  centre,  and  having  a 
spiral  line  wound  regularly  upon  them. 

The  radiating  lines  are  smooth,  whereas  the  spiral  line  is 
thickly  studded  with  minute  knobs,  to  which  the  efficacy  of  the 
net  is  due,  for  they  are  composed  of  a  thick 
adhesive  and  viscid  substance,  and  serve  to 
arrest  the  wings  and  legs  of  the  insects  that 
happen  to  touch  the  net.  It  has  been 
observed  that  these  viscid  threads  are  of 
uniform  thickness  when  first  spun,  but 
that  undulations  soon  appear  in  them,  and 

Sievelike  Spinnaret  that  the  viscid  matter    S00n    accumulates  in 


of  the  Garden  Spider.       g^^es  at  regular  intervals. 

As  the  spinnarets  of  the  garden-spider  are    of  a   different 

anatomical  structure  —  one  pair  presenting  on  its  surface  a  num- 

ber of  small  perforations,  the  edges  of  which  do  not  project,  and 

which  therefore  resemble  a  sieve,  while  the  other  is  studded  with 


THE    GARDEN   SPIDER.  239 

hollow  tubes  perforated  at  the  extremity — there  is  reason  to 
suppose  that  each  kind  of  thread  is  produced  by  its  own  pair 
of  spinnarets. 

Another  point  in  the  construction  of  these  webs,  so  exactly  true 
in  all  their  proportions,  is  that  they  are  executed  entirely  by  the 
sense  of  touch.  The  eyes  are  situated  on  the  front  of  the  body 
and  on  the  upper  surface,  whereas  the  spinnarets  are  placed 
at  the  very  extremity  of  the  body  on  the 
under-surface,  the  threads  being  always 
guided  by  one  of  the  hind-legs,  as  may  be 
seen  by  watching  a  garden-spider  in  the  act 
of  building  or  repairing  her  web.  To  place 
the  fact  beyond  a  doubt,  spiders  have  been 
confined  in  total  darkness,  and  yet  have 
spun  webs  as  perfect  as  if  they  had  been  Tubular  spinnaret 
suspended  in  the  open  daylight. 

All  spiders  require  patience,  for  they  have  often  a  long  time 
to  wait  before  they  entrap  their  prey,  and  even  the  garden 
spiders  are  subject  to  long  privations,  in  spite  of  their  consum- 
mate skill.  Continual  stormy  wea.ther  destroys  their  nets,  and 
frequently  prevents  their  making  a  new  one  for  many  a  day ;  so 
that  during  the  protracted  period  of  involuntary  fasting,  not 
even  a  gnat  can  be  caught  to  satisfy  their  hunger.  And  when 
at  length  the  new  net  is  suspended,  a  colossal  wasp  or  huge  bee 
comes  flying  against  it,  and  tears  a  prodigious  breach  in  its  deli- 
cate texture.  But  the  philosophic  spider  bears  all  the  bufferings 
of  adverse  fortune  with  exemplary  patience,  and  instead  of 
breaking  out  into  useless  complaints,  immediately  sets  to  work, 
and  in  a  short  time  the  damage  is  fully  repaired. 

Besides  the  netmaking  spider,  there  are  many  others  that 
are  satisfied  with  less  artificial  snares  for  entrapping  their  prey. 
Some  draw  their  threads  over  the  surface  of  a  leaf,  and  thus 
catch  the  insects  that  heedlessly  wander  over  the  treacherous 
ground  ;  others  spin  them  under  stones  or  in  the  fissures  of  the 
soil.  In  hollow  walls,  in  the  crevices  of  windows,  the  fero- 
cious Segestria  conceals  her  body  in  a  cylindrical  tube,  open  at 
both  ends,  from  which  only  her  forefeet  project,  ready  to  rush 
upon  her  prey.  She  weaves  no  web,  but  merely  draws  a  few 
threads  about  the  hole  in  which  she  has  fixed  her  abode.  As 
soon  as  an  unwary  fly  touches  one  of  them,  she  immediately 


240  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

pounces  upon  it  and  seals  its  doom.  Even  wasps,  which  other 
spiders  are  averse  from  attacking,  either  on  account  of  their 
sting  or  of  the  hardness  of  their  integuments,  are  fearlessly 
encountered  and  defeated  by  this  formidable  spider ;  for  its 
breast  and  feet  are  very  hard,  and  the  abdomen  is  covered  with 
a  thick  skin,  so  that  it  does  not  fear  their  sting,  and  its  strong 
and  hard  mandibles  are  able  to  crush  their  horny  coverings. 
So  beautifully  is  the  organization  of  the  spiders  modified,  ac- 
cording to  the  various  prey  which  has  been  destined  for  their  use ! 

The  Salticus  scenicus,  a  common  black-and-white  spider, 
which  may  always  be  seen  in  summer  upon  walls  and  windows, 
disdains  the  use  of  any  snare,  and,  like  the  tiger,  relies  upon  his 
spring  alone  for  the  overpowering  of  his  prey.  When  he  spies  a 
fly  at  a  distance,  he  approaches  softly  step  by  step,  and  seems  to 
measure  his  distance  from  it  by  the  eye;  then  if  he  judges  that 
it  is  within  reach,  first  fixing  a  thread  to  the  spot  on  which  he 
is  stationed  by  means  of  his  forefeet,  which  are  much  larger 
and  longer  than  the  others,  he  darts  on  his  victim  with  such 
rapidity  and  so  true  an  aim,  that  he  seldom  misses  it.  He  is 
prevented  from  falling  by  the  thread  j  list  mentioned,  which  acts 
as  a  kind  of  anchor,  and  enables  him  to  recover  his  station. 

The  subterranean  labours  of  the  large  trapdoor  spiders,  of 
which  many  species  abound  in  the  warmer  climates,  are  no  less 
admirable  than  the  nets  of  the  weaving  arachnidse.  These 
hideous  brown  or  black-haired  creatures,  which  sometimes 
attain  a  length  of  three  inches,  while  their  legs  embrace  a  circle 
of  half  a  foot  in  diameter,  dig  deep  tubular  holes  in  the  earth, 
from  which  they  sally  forth  after  sunset  in  quest  of  prey, 
or  to  which  they  retreat  in  case  of  danger.  The  interior  of  the 
nest,  which  is  sometimes  nine  inches  deep,  is  lined  with  a  double 
coat  of  tapestry — the  one  nearest  the  wall,  which  is  of  a  coarser 
tissue,  being  covered  with  a  pure  white  silken  substance  like 
paper — but  it  is  chiefly  in  the  construction  of  the  trapdoor 
which  secures  its  entrance  that  the  little  architect  displays  a 
remarkable  ingenuity.  This  lid  is  a  flap  of  the  same  substance 
as  the  tube,  of  a  circular  shape,  so  as  to  fit  the  orifice  with 
perfect  accuracy ;  and  attached  to  the  tube  by  a  tolerably  wide 
hinge,  so  that  on  closing  it  does  not  fall  to  either  side,  but 
comes  true  and  fair  upon  the  opening  which  it  guards.  A  cu- 
rious instinct  teaches  the  spider  to  make  her  tunnel  in  some 


THE    WATER   SPIDER, 


241 


sloping  spot  with  the  hinge  at  the  upper  end,  so  that  when  she 
leaves  her  home,  or  returns  into  her  burrow,  the  door  closes  of  its 
own  accord  ;  nay,  what  is  still  more  admirable,  on  the  interior 
side  opposite  to  the  hinge,  about  thirty  small  holes,  arranged 
in  a  semicircle,  may  be  perceived,  which  enable  the  spider  to 
hold  her  door  down  in  any  case  of  emergency  against  external 
force  by  the  insertion  of  her  claws  into  some  of  them.  The 


Water  Spiders. 

outer  surface  of  the  door  being  on  a  level  with  the  ground, 
and  covered  with  earth  taken  from  the  soil  in  which  the  tunnel 
is  excavated,  it  is  evident  that  all  traces  of  the  burrow  are  lost, 
so  that  a  more  perfect  hiding-hole  cannot  possibly  be  imagined. 
By  a  no  less  admirable  instinct,  the  water-spider  has  been 
taught  to  fabricate  a  kind  of  diving-bell,  for  which  purpose  she 


242  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

usually  selects  still  waters.  Her  house  is  an  oval  cocoon  lined 
with  silk,  from  which  threads  issue  in  every  direction,  and  are 
fastened  to  the  surrounding  plants ;  in  this  cocoon,  which  is 
open  below,  she  watches  for  her  prey,  and  even  appears  to  pass 
the  winter,  when  she  closes  the  opening.  It  is  most  commonly 
entirely  under  water,  but  its  inhabitant  has  filled  it  with  the 
air  needful  for  respiration,  and  breathes  as  easily  in  her  sub- 
aquatic  home  as  if  her  wonderful  nest  were  suspended  in  the 
atmosphere.  The  manner  in  which  she  fills  her  cell  is  very 
curious.  She  ascends  to  the  surface  slowly,  assisted  by  a  thread 
attached  to  the  leaf  or  other  support  below.  As  soon  as  she 
comes  near  the  surface,  she  turns  with  the  extremity  of  the 
abdomen  upwards,  and  exposes  a  portion  of  the  body  to  the  air 
for  an  instant;  then,  with  a  jerk,  she  snatches  as  it  were  a  bubble 
of  air,  which  is  not  only  attached  to  the  hairs  which  cover  the 
abdomen,  but  is  held  on  by  the  two  hinder  legs,  which  are 
crossed  at  an  acute  angle  near  their  extremity — this  crossing  of 
the  legs  taking  place  the  instant  the  bubble  is  seized.  The 
little  creature  then  descends  more  rapidly  and  regains  her  cell, 
always  by  the  same  route,  turns  the  abdomen  within  it,  and 
disengages  the  bubble.  In  this  way  more  than  a  dozen  journeys 
are  performed  —  sometimes  two  or  three  very  quickly  one 
after  another,  at  other  times  with  a  considerable  interval 
between  them,  during  which  period  the  industrious  little  animal 
is  employed  in  extending  and  giving  shape  to  her  silvery  dome, 
getting  into  it,  pushing  it  out  at  one  place,  and  amending  it  at 
another,  and  strengthening  its  attachments  to  the  supports.  At 
length,  when  satisfied  with  her  work,  she  settles  in  her  den 
head  downwards,  and,  undisturbed  by  the  wind  that  ruffles  the 
surface  of  the  pond,  lies  in  wait  for  her  prey,  or,  having  dragged 
it  to  her  cavern,  leisurely  devours  it. 

She  also  places  her  eggs  in  this  cell,  spinning  a  saucer-shaped 
cocoon,  and  fixing  it  against  the  inner  side  and  near  the  top. 
In  this  cocoon  are  about  a  hundred  eggs,  of  a  spherical  shape, 
and  very  small.  The  cell  is  a  true  home  for  the  young  spiders, 
who,  when  sufficiently  strong  to  provide  for  themselves,  are 
turned  adrift  by  the  mother,  and,  prompted  by  their  wonderful 
instinct,  soon  construct  a  subaquatic  home  similar  to  that  in 
which  they  first  drew  breath. 

The  raft-spider   is  another  aquatic   or  rather   semi-aquatic 


RAFT    SPIDERS. 


243 


species  ;  but  ID  stead  of  living  beneath  the  water,  it  only  makes 
a  temporary  and  moveable  residence  on  the  surface  of  fens  and 
marshes. 

Not  content  with  chasing  insects  on  land,  it  follows  them  in 
the  water,  on  the  surface  of  which  it  can  run  freely.  It  needs, 
however,  a  resting-place,  and  to  supply  this  want  it  has  been 
taught  by  instinct  to  form  a  kind  of  raft,  by  collecting  a  quan- 
tity of  dry  leaves  and  similar  substances,  which  it  fastens  with 
silken  threads.  Here  it  sits,  and  allows  itself  to  be  blown  about 
the  water  by  the  wind,  ever  ready  to  seize  the  first  aquatic 
insect  that  comes  within  its  reach,  or  to  pounce  with  the  rapidity 


€%'*     .- 


The  Raft  Spider. 

of  lightning  upon  some  unfortunate  moth  or  beetle  that  has 
fallen  into  the  water,  and  vainly  endeavours  to  extricate  its 
wings  from  the  uncongenial  element.  It  can  even  descend 
below  the  surface  by  crawling  down  the  stems  of  aquatic  plants, 
and  this  capability  of  existing  some  time  beneath  the  water  is 
often  the  means  of  saving  its  life ;  for  when  it  sees  an  enemy 
approaching  it  quietly  slips  under  the  raft,  and  remains  con- 
cealed until  the  danger  has  passed. 

Thus  we  find  the  spiders  uniting  every  mode  of  attack  or 
variety  of  warfare — the  bold  onslaught  of  the  lion,  the  tiger's 

R2 


244  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

spring,  the  patient  artifice  of  the  lynx,  the  poison  of  the  adder, 
and  the  diving  agility  of  the  otter.  But  if  they  thus  render 
themselves  extremely  formidable  to  the  insects,  and  essentially 
contribute  to  keep  them  within  due  limits  by  the  destruction 
they  cause  among  their  ranks,  they  in  their  turn  are  exposed  to 
the  assaults  of  numberless  enemies.  Independently  of  those 
which  they  find  in  their  own  class,  the  centipedes  seize  them 
beyond  the  possibility  of  escape ;  while  several  species  of  ichneu- 
mons and  wasps,  more  savage  and  poisonous  than  themselves, 
will  rush  upon  spiders  eight  times  their  size  and  weight,  and 
benumbing  them  with  their  sting,  triumphantly  bear  them  off 
to  their  nests,  to  serve  as  food  for  their  larvae. 

In  spite  of  their  citadels,  the  trapdoor  spiders  frequently 
succumb  to  the  ants,  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  their 
youthful  progeny ;  and  while  the  water-spiders  are  hunting  the 
aquatic  insects,  they  themselves  are  chased  by  the  water-scorpions 
and  the  larvae  of  the  dragonfly. 

Several  species  of  monkeys,  squirrels,  lizards,  tortoises,  frogs, 
and  toads  catch  and  devour  them  wherever  they  can.  In  the 
islands  of  the  Indian  Archipelago  we  even  find  several  sparrow- 
like  birds,  that  have  been  named  arachnotherae,  from  their 
living  almost  exclusively  on  spiders.  Armed  with  a  prodigiously 
long  and  arcuated  beak,  they  know  how  to  pursue  them  and 
drag  them  forth  from  their  obscure  recesses. 

To  resist  so  many  attacks  which  menace  their  existence,  the 
spiders  have  been  endowed  with  a  variety  of  passive  defences. 
Their  shy  and  solitary  habits  are  a  safeguard  against  many 
dangers.  Many  feign  death  and  thus  deceive  the  voracity  of 
an  enemy  or  the  caution  of  their  prey,  while  others  are  enabled 
by  their  colour  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  concealment.  Thus 
those  that  spend  their  lives  in  the  trees  and  bushes  are  frequently 
green  like  the  foliage  on  which  they  dwell,  or  brilliantly  tinted 
like  the  gaily-coloured  flowers  which  serve  as  their  abode; 
while  those  which  are  in  the  habit  of  frequenting  gloomy  places 
appear  in  a  dark-coloured  and  dingy  garb,  harmonizing  with 
their  dreary  mode  of  life. 

An  exception  to  the  general  rule  is,  however,  found  in  those 
large  and  powerful  species,  which,  if  not  rendered  somewhat 
conspicuous  to  the  sight  of  other  insects,  might  do  too  much 
damage  to  the  tribes  which  they  keep  in  check,  and  endanger 


SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  YOUNG.  245 

the  balance  of  Nature.  Most  of  these  therefore  have  the  thorax 
and  abdomen  margined  with  a  light  colour,  which  contrasts 
strongly  with  that  of  their  bodies,  and  in  many  cases  gives  timely 
warning  of  their  approach, 

The  tropical  genera  gasteracantha  and  acrosoma  are  invested 
with  large  angular  spines,  sticking  out  of  their  bodies  in  every 
kind  of  fashion.  Temptingly  suspended  in  mid-air  in  the  forest- 
glades,  they  would  long  since  have  been  destroyed  by  the  sharp- 
sighted  birds,  if  Providence  had  not  effectually  protected  them 
by  this  defensive  armour,  which  prevents  them  being  swallowed 
with  impunity. 

An  amazing  fecundity  and  a  strong  maternal  instinct  essen- 
tially contribute  to  shield  the  spider  race  from  destruction.  The 
arachnidse  are  in  all  other  respects  extremely  unamiable  crea- 
tures, of  a  morose  irascible  temper,  and  utterly  insensible  to 
the  charms  of  connubial  affection ;  but  their  tenderness  for  their 
young  brood,  the  only  thing  they  love  on  earth,  is  truly  exem- 
plary, nor  will  the  greatest  personal  danger  ever  induce  them  to 
forsake  their  cocoons.  When  a  seizure  of  this  precious  burden 
is  threatened,  the  theridion  tumbles  together  with  it  to  the 
ground  and  remains  motionless ;  while  the  thorinsa  covers  it  with 
its  body,  and  when  robbed  of  it  wanders  about  disconsolate. 

Ant  el  me  relates  how  he  once  put  the  maternal  fondness  of  a 
spider  to  the  test.  Having  robbed  her  of  the  little  silken  bag 
in  which  her  infant  progeny  was  contained,  he  observed  how 
anxiously  she  ran  about,  evidently  seeking  her  lost  treasure. 
Her  tormentor  having  restored  the  bag,  she  seized  it  hastily,  and 
endeavoured  to  escape  as  fast  as  she  could.  But  the  cruel 
naturalist,  not  satisfied  with  this  first  experiment  on  her  feelings, 
robbed  her  once  more,  when  she  again  exhibited  the  same  symp- 
toms of  despair.  He  now  reached  her  small  bullets  of  cotton 
and  bread-crumbs,  made  to  resemble  her  cocoon,  but  these  were 
indignantly  rejected ;  for  the  heart  of  a  mother  is  not  easily 
deceived,  and  the  poor  spider  only  regained  her  tranquillity 
when  she  was  at  length  allowed  to  depart  in  peace  with  her 
recovered  treasure. 

Bonnet,  an  eminent  Swiss  naturalist  of  the  last  century, 
delivered  up  the  little  silken  bag  of  the  aranea  saccata  to  that 
cruel  insect  the  ant-lion,  when  the  distressed  mother,  far  from 
deserting  her  charge,  made  the  most  extraordinary  efforts  to 


246  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

recover  it, — persevering  regardless  of  her  own  danger,,  and  reso- 
lutely remaining  on  the  spot,  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  force  her 
to  leave  it. 

As  the  chief  use  of  the  spiders  in  the  household  of  Nature 
consists  in  their  checking  the  inordinate  increase  of  the  insect- 
tribes,  they  may  naturally  be  expected  to  be  most  numerous 
where  they  are  able  to  find  the  most  abundant  prey.  Thus  their 
headquarters  are  in  the  torrid  zone,  and  here  also,  where  so 
many  beetles,  flies,  and  moths  attain  a  size  unknown  in  the 
temperate  regions,  we  find  by  a  beautiful  harmony  of  Nature 
the  spiders  growing  to  similar  gigantic  dimensions,  and  forming 
webs  proportioned  to  the  bulk  of  the  victims  which  they  are 
intended  to  ensnare.  But  their  numbers  are  also  very  great  in 
the  temperate  regions  of  the  globe,  and  the  morning  dew  fre- 
quently shows  the  hedges  and  meadows  covered  with  their 
countless  webs,  brought  out  in  silvery  relief. 

Extending  in  gradually  diminishing  numbers  to  the  North, 
they  ascend"  the  slopes  of  high  mountains,  and  even  dive  into 
the  darkness  of  nightly  caves,  where,  though  deprived  of  sight, 
they  manage  to  catch  their  prey  in  a  manner  which  to  us  is 
totally  incomprehensible. 

Thus  the  eyeless  stalita  taenaria  dwells  in  the  Grotto  of  Adels- 
berg,  where  she  lies  in  ambush  for  the  yellow  cave-beetle  (Lep- 
todirus  Hohemvartii),  which  has  likewise  been  doomed  to  pass 
its  life  in  subterranean  darkness.  Even  on  the  insect-teeming 
surface  of  the  earth,  the  patient  spiders  are  frequently  obliged 
to  wait  a  long  time  for  a  repast ;  here  in  this  thinly-peopled 
cave  the  stalita  must  have  brought  patience  to  perfection.  Her 
appearance  on  the  snow-white  stalactites,  which  she  resembles 
in  colour,  and  where  she  becomes  visible  only  in  a  strong  light, 
is  remarkably  striking.  Like  a  vision  she  sweeps  away  in  her 
ivory  robe,  accompanied  by  the  lengthening  shadow  she  throws 
back  in  her  flight,  so  that  a  superstitious  or  fanciful  observer 
might  easily  take  her  for  the  spirit  of  the  place. 


247 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

- — 

FISHES. 

The  Waters  a  Scene  of  constant  War — Fecundity  of  Fishes  necessary  to  maintain 
the  Equilibrium — Migrations  of  the  Salmon — Means  of  Defence  and  Attack — 
The  Dragon  Weerer — The  Acanthurus — The  Catfish — The  Sting-ray — Dental 
Apparatus  of  Fishes — Teeth  of  the  Lamprey  and  Scari — The  Sawfish — Electrical 
Fish — Fins — Air  Bladders—  Gills — Respiratory  Apparatus  of  the  Lamprey  and 
Hag — of  the  Frogfish  and  Hassar — The  Star  Gazer— The  Angler — The  Rostra- 
ted Chsetodon — The  Senses  of  Fishes — Beautiful  Construction  of  their  Eye — 
Care  of  the  Stickleback  for  its  Young — Parental  Solicitude  of  the  Black  Goby 
and  of  the  Hassar. 

IN  the  wide  ocean,  under  the  tranquil  surface  of  the  lake,  in  the 
majestic  river  that  pays  the  tribute  of  its  waters  to  the  sea,  in 
the  brook  rushing  down  the  valley — as  far  as  the  domains 
of  the  fishes  extend,  there  is  a  constant  war,  a  constant  pursuit 
and  flight,  a  constant  alternation  between  victory  and  death. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  vertebrated  animals  of  the  dry  land 
consists  of  gentle  herbivora — almost  the  entire  race  of  rodents : 
the  stag,  the  ox,  the  horse,  the  sheep,  the  giraffe,  the  elephant, 
the  rhinoceros,  the  hippopotamus,  and  many  others,  all  live  on 
vegetable  food ;  but  the  vast  majority  of  fishes,  from  the  smallest 
to  the  largest,  from  the  tiny  stickleback  to  the  shark,  are  per- 
petually intent  on  rapine  and  murder,  and,  except  in  the  breeding 
season,  the  sole  occupation  of  their  life  is  to  pursue  a  prey  or  to 
escape  from  a  pursuer. 

Amidst  all  these  scenes  of  anarchy  and  destruction  the  super- 
ficial observer  might  almost  be  inclined  to  imagine  that  Moloch, 
and  not  a  beneficent  Deity,  had  established  his  throne  in  the 
ocean  ;  but  a  deeper  insight  into  the  life  of  fishes  soon  proves  to 
us  that  here,  as  everywhere  else,  apparent  discord  is  but  the 
means  of  promoting  harmony. 

In  spite  of  their  perpetual  losses,  the  many  thousand  species 
of  fishes  that  people  the  empire  of  the  seas  maintain  themselves 


248  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

against  their  enemies  :  the  herring  still  rises  in  legions  from  the 
deeper  waters,  as  soon  as  the  coasts  are  warmed  by  the  genial 
influence  of  the  vernal  sun ;  the  salmon  still  Wanders  up  the 
streams  that  witnessed  the  migrations  of  his  forefathers  in  far- 
distant  ages,  and  the  cod  never  ceases  to  fulfil  the  expectations 
of  the  fisherman. 

Under  the  protection  of  an  Almighty  Lawgiver  the  equilibrium 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  ocean  is  thus  constantly  preserved 
though  constantly  assailed ;  and  though  the  scythe  of  death  is 
indefatigably  mowing  throughout  Neptune's  domains,  it  is  but 
to  celebrate  the  eternal  triumph  of  life. 

In  various  ways  Providence  has  found  means  to  preserve  the 
persecuted  races  of  the  fishes :  particularly  among  those  that 
annually  congregate  on  sandbanks  or  on  the  coasts,  or  are  ex- 
posed during  their  migrations  to  numberless  attacks,  a  surpris- 
ing fecundity  makes  up  for  exorbitant  losses.  Five  hundred 
thousand  eggs  have  been  found  in  a  single  mackerel,  a  million 
and  a  half  in  a  flounder,  six  millions  in  a  sturgeon,  ten  millions 
in  a  cod,  and  twenty  millions  in  a  salmon.  Thus  myriads  of 
eggs  may  be  devoured  by  other  fishes;  seals,  sea-birds,  and 
man,  the  most  rapacious  of  all  carnivorous  beings,  may  feed  for 
months  upon  millions  of  the  herring  or  the  cod  before  they  retire 
again  to  the  depths  of  the  ocean ;  and  yet  the  species  resists 
every  storm,  and  continually  reappears  in  undiminished  numbers. 

The  wonderful  instinct  which  forces  the  salmon,  the  sturgeon, 
and  other  fishes  periodically  to  leave  the  sea,  for  the  purpose  of 
depositing  their  spawn  upon  the  shallow  beds  of  rivers,  is  another 
of  the  great  agencies  which  Nature  employs  for  the  maintenance 
and  wide  dissemination  of  many  of  the  finny  tribes  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  confined  to  narrow  limits,  or  would  long 
since  have  been  extirpated  by  their  enemies. 

Generally  inhabitants  of  the  cold  and  temperate  zones,  these 
fishes  find  during  the  winter,  in  the  deeper  waters  of  the  sea,  the 
warmth  and  nourishment  which  the  frozen  streams  no  longer 
can  afford  them  ;  but  in  spring  and  summer,  when  the  rivers 
teem  with  numberless  worms  and  insects,  and  their  tepid  waters 
afford  the  necessary  warmth  for  the  hatching  of  their  eggs,  they 
begin  their  wanderings  stream-upwards,  frequently  ascending 
many  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  river's  mouth  in  regular  array; 
the  largest  individual,  which  is  usually  a  female,  taking  the 


MIGRATIONS    OF   SALMON.  249 

lead,  and  the  others  following  two-and-two,  each  pair  being  at 
the  distance  of  from  three  to  six  feet  from  the  preceding  one. 
The  numerous  bands  of  salmon  will  thus  force  themselves 
against  the  most  rapid  streams,  and  even  considerable  cascades 
are  unable  to  stop  their  progress ;  for  placing  their  tail  in  their 
mouth,  and  letting  it  go  suddenly,  they  raise  themselves  in 
the  air  to  the  height  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet,  or  even 
more,  and  so  clear  the  cataract  that  impedes  their  course ;  nor, 
if  they  fail  in  their  first  attempt,  do  they  allow  themselves  to  be 
discouraged,  but  continue  their  efforts  till  they  have  accom- 
plished their  task. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  the  salmon  on  his  wan- 
derings never  tarries  in  the  deep  lakes  any  longer  than  is  neces- 
sary to  reach  the  rivers  that  flow  through  them.  Who  teaches 
him  the  way?  Who  tells  him  when  entering  the  Lake  of 
Zurich  that  at  its  farthest  extremity  he  will  find  the  narrow  bed 
of  the  Linth,  or  that,  after  traversing  the  long  and  sinuous  Lake 
of  Lucerne,  he  will  again  reenter  the  rapid  stream  of  the  Eeuss  ? 

And  how  surprising  is  the  memory  which  annually  leads  him 
back  from  the  ocean  to  the  spot  in  which  he  has  been  bred, 
though  while  tarrying  in  the  sea  he  may  have  roved  for  miles 
along  the  coast !  Deslandes,  a  French  naturalist,  attached  a 
copper  ring  to  the  tails  of  twelve  salmon,  and  shortly  after 
restored  them  to  liberty  in  the  River  Auzun,  in  Brittany. 
They  soon  disappeared,  but  in  the  following  year  five  were 
caught  again  at  the  same  spot ;  the  year  after,  three ;  and  three 
again  in  the  third  year.  To  explain  these  miracles  of  instinct 
is  impossible — all  we  can  do  is  to  admire  them! 

The  frequent  return  of  the  salmon  to  his  old  haunts,  and  the 
large  size  he  often  attains,  prove  that,  in  spite  of  the  many 
dangers  to  which  he  is  exposed  during  his  migrations,  he  not 
seldom  reaches  a  good  old  age.  Salmon  weighing  forty,  fifty, 
or  even  eighty-three  pounds  have  found  their  way  to  the 
London  market ;  and  when  we  read  of  sturgeons  twenty-five  feet 
long,  and  of  halibuts  of  three  hundredweight,  we  cannot  doubt 
that  these  colossal  individuals  had  long  outgrown  their  youth, 
and  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  truly  patriarchal  longevity. 

Not  all  the  members  of  the  finny  tribes  are  endowed  with  the 
prodigious  fecundity  of  the  cod  or  the  sturgeon,  of  the  mackerel 
or  the  salmon  ;  for  where  it  is  not  so  necessary,  or  where  a  too- 


250  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

rapid  increase  might  have  destroyed  the  balance  of  marine 
existence,  propagation  has  been  providently  reduced  to  narrower 
limits.  Thus  the  gaudy  filefish  that  swim  like  animated  gems 
among  the  coral -gardens  of  the  tropical  seas,  and  are  not  only 
able  to  seek  a  ready  refuge  among  the  dense  branches  of  the 
lithophytes,  but  whose  skin  is  moreover  covered  everywhere 
with  minute  spines,  are  far  less  prolific  than  the  migratory 
fishes;  and  the  voracious  rays  and  sharks,  whose  inordinate 
increase  would  have  given  them  a  dangerous  supremacy  in  the 
maritime  domains,  bring  forth  but  a  few  young  at  a  time. 
As  the  length  of  the  newly-hatched  white  shark — which  at  a 
later  period  is,  in  size  and  voracity,  the  most  formidable  of  all 
the  species — does  not  exceed  a  few  .inches,  we  also  may  be 
sure  that  numbers  of  these  young  monsters  are  swept  away 
before  they  are  entitled  to  rank  among  the  tyrants  of  the  deep. 
In  their  double  quality  of  predaceous  and  persecuted  animals, 
the  fishes  are  well  provided  with  those  means  of  attack  or 
defence  that  are  absolutely  necessary  for  their  maintenance 
on  a  scene  of  perpetual  warfare.  Many  of  them  trust  to  the 
wonderful  velocity  of  their  movements  ;  while  others,  conscious 
of  inferior  agility,  conceal  themselves  in  the  mud  or  among  the 
rocks  and  sea-plants — either  to  escape  pursuit,  like  the  hare,  or 
to  pounce,  like  the  falcon,  upon  their  unsuspecting  prey.  In 

the  ostracion  and 
lepidosteus  we 
see  a  solid  cui- 
rass of  hexagonal 
scales,  inclosing 
the  animal  in  an 
ostracion.  (Tortoise  Fish.)  almost  impreg- 

nable citadel ;  while  the  tetrodons  and  diodons  have  the  power 
of  inflating  their  body  at  pleasure,  and  thus  raising  the  long 
acute  spines  dispersed  over  their  side  and  abdomen,  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  form  a  defence  as  excellent  as  that  of  the  hedge- 
hog or  porcupine. 

The  little  stickleback  not  only  makes  use  of  its  dorsal  spines 
as  a  means  of  defence,  but  as  a  formidable  offensive  weapon ; 
for  the  males  are  exceedingly  pugnacious,  and  in  their  pigmy 
broils  use  them  with  such  fatal  effect,  that  one  occasionally  rips 
up  and  kills  the  other. 


WEAPONS    OF    FISHES. 


251 


Common  Weever 
(Trachmus  Draco). 


The  strong  spines  of  the  dragon- weever,  a  small  silvery  fish 
frequently  occurring  on  our  shores, 
are  capable  of  inflicting  such  trouble- 
some and  painful  wounds  that  they 
are  the  objects  of  the  fisherman's 
dread;  and  the  lancet-like  moveable 
spines,  not  unlike  the  very  large 

thorns  of  the  rose-tree,  with  which  the  tropical  surgeon-fishes 
(or  Acanthuri)  are  armed  on  each  side  of  the  tail,  inflict  a  most 
terrible  gash  on  the  hand  of  anyone  so  imprudent  as  to  come 
within  their  reach. 

Several  of  the  siluridse,  or  catfish,  use  the  sharp  spine 
of  their  dorsal  fin  (a),  in  a  very  peculiar  manner,  for  the  ob- 
taining of  their  food.  Getting  beneath  the 
fish  they  have  selected  for  their  meal,  they 
suddenly  rise  and  wound  it  repeatedly  in 
the  belly.  Michaux  several  times  observed 
this  ingenious  piece  of  strategy  in  the  clear 

Waters  Of  the  Ohio.  Dorsal  fin  of  Catfish. 

One  of  the  most  formidable  of  the  numerous  spine-armed 
fishes  (of  whom,  not  to  tire  the  reader,  I  have  mentioned  but  a 
few)  is  beyond  all  doubt  the  sting-ray.  Its  weapon  is  a  long 
bony  and  rather  flattened  process,  placed  on  the  tail,  of  great 
hardness,  and  very  sharp,  the  sides  being  armed  with  numerous 
barbs,  like  the  head  of  an  Indian  spear.  Whether  the  fish,  at 
the  time  of  inflicting  a  wound  with  this  instrument,  discharges 
some  poisonous  liquid,  or  whether  the  laceration  of  the  wound 
indisposes  it  to  heal  kindly,  is  still  a  matter  of  doubt ;  but  so 
much  is  certain,  that  the  sting  of  these  rays  has  often  been 
attended  with  fatal  consequences,  and  that  the  pain  it  causes 
is  such  as  to  deprive  the  sufferer  of  consciousness. 

The  fishes  rely  chiefly  upon  their  dental  apparatus  for  the 
capture  of  their  prey,  as  they  have  neither  feet  nor  hands  to 
lay  hold  of  it ;  and  as  the  creatures  they  pursue  through  the 
waste  of  waters  are  generally  of  a  slippery  nature,  we  find  their 
teeth,  by  their  sharpness,  position,  and  numbers,  most  admirably 
adapted  for  their  seizure. 

In  many  of  the  larger  fishes  these  instruments  of  destruction 
are  as  formidable  as  those  of  the  lions  or  tigers  of  the  dry  land. 
Thus  the  .shark  will  at  one  grip  cut  a  man  in  two,  swallowing 


252 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


one  half,  and  leaving  the  other  for  a  second  morsel ;  and  such  is 
the  power  of  the  seawolf  s  jaws,  that  he  will  crunch  a  cutlass  as 
if  it  was  made  of  glass. 

The  teeth  of  the  fishes  are  not,  like  those  of  the  quadrupeds, 
consolidated  with  certain  bones  of  the  mouth,  or  implanted  into 
the  jaws,  but,  like  the  scales,  prickles,  and  spines,  are  of  merely 
cuticular  origin.  Hence  they  afford  an  amazing  variety  of  form 
and  position,  being  attached  to  any  or  to  every  part  of  the 
mouth,  according  to  the  necessities  of  the  given  species ;  hence 

also  their  numbers  are  often 
very  large,  and  capable  of 
constant  renovation.  Some- 
times they  are  so  minute 
as  only  to  be  perceptible  by 
the  rough  or  scabrous  sur- 
face which  the  parts  of 
the  mouth  to  which  they 
are  attached  present.  If  of 
larger  size,  they  exhibit 
the  appearance  of  a  file  or 
rasp,  or  they  may  have  the 
shape  of  small  cones  or 
hooks  thickly  scattered  over 
the  mouth. 

In  the  sharks,  they  con- 
sist of  several  rows  of 
broad  arid  trenchant  lami- 
nae, the  anterior  row  of 
which  (a)  stands  up  per- 
pendicularly from  the  jaws, 
ready  for  use,  while  the 
succeeding  layers  (6)  are  re- 
cumbent, being  covered  over  by  a  fold  of  the  mucous  lining  of 
the  mouth.  These  teeth,  like  those  of  the  rays,  are  perpetually 
renovated,  new  and  sharp  rows  behind  being  constantly  ready  to 
replace  the  old  and  worn  ones  in  front,  as  soon  as  the  latter  fall 
out  or  become  useless. 

In  the  lamprey,  which  does  not  sever  its  victims  by  a  powerful 
bite,  but  sucks  their  blood  like  a  leech,  the  teeth  are  very  differ- 
ently though  not  less  admirably  arranged;  for  here  they  are 


Teeth  of  Shark. 

c  divided  tooth  to  show  that  it  is  hollow,  d  fibro- 
mucous  layer,  which  by  its  growth  brings  the 
successive  rows  progressively  into  use. 


TEETH    OF    FISHES. 


253 


composed  of  horny  plates  or  tubercles  of  different  forms,  which 
are  disposed  with  great  regularity  over  the  whole  surface  of  the 
sucker-shaped  mouth,  so  as  evidently  to  secure  a  deadly  hold  of 


Dental  apparatus  of  the  Lamprey. 
b  fang  fixed  to  the  roof. 

any  victim  seized  upon.  The  tongue  (d\  which  is  very  moveable, 
and  capable  of  being  retracted  and  protruded  by  means  of  strong 
muscles,  is  likewise  armed  with  serrated  teeth,  with  which,  as 
with  a  rasp,  the  lamprey  tears  through  the  flesh  of  its  prey. 

In  the  scari,  which  have  to  feed  upon  the  numerous  lithophytes 
that  clothe  the  rocks  at 
the  bottom  of  the  ocean, 
the  dental  apparatus 
given  to  protect  their 
jaws  from  injury  is  very 
remarkable.  These  fishes 
have  their  jaws  (a,  6), 
which  resemble  the  beak 
of  a  parrot,  covered  ex- 
ternally with  a  kind  of 
pavement  of  teeth,  an- 
swering the  same  pur- 
pose as  the  horny  invest- 
ment of  the  mandibles  of 
the  bird,  and  succeeding 
each  other,  from  the  rear 
to  the  front,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  bases  of  the  newest  form  a  cutting  edge. 
Thus  armed,  the  parrot-fish  browses  without  difficulty  on  the 


Beak  of  Parrotfish.    (Scarus  nmricatus.) 


254  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 

newest  layers  of  the  stony  corals,  digesting  the  animal  matter 
therein  contained,  and  setting  free  the  carbonate  of  lime  in  a 
chalky  state. 

The  maxillary  teeth  of  the  sawfish,  which  is  an  active  and 
predatory  shark,  are  notwithstanding  its  habits  extremely 
small,  simple,  obtuse,  and  wholly  inadequate  to  destroy  and 
secure  the  prey  requisite  for  its  subsistence.  But  this  seemingly 
imperfect  armature  of  the  mouth  is  compensated  by  the  de- 
velopment from  the  anterior  part  of  the  head  of  a  horizon- 
tally flattened  process,  equalling  one-third  of  the  entire  fish  in 
length,  and  provided  with  strong  teeth, 
deeply  lodged  in  sockets  excavated  on 
each  of  its  lateral  margins.  With  this 
formidable  weapon,  which  is  quite  unique 
among  the  whole  finny  race,  the  sawfish 
does  not  fear  to  engage  even  the  monstrous 
whale  in  deadly  combat.  The  whale, 
whose  only  defence  is  his  tail,  endeavours 
to  strike  his  enemy  with  it ;  and  a  single 
blow  would  prove  mortal.  But  the  saw- 
fish with  astonishing  agility  shuns  the 
tremendous  stroke,  bounds  into  the  air, 
and  returns  upon  his  huge  adversary, 
plunging  the  rugged  weapon  with  which 
he  is  furnished  into  his  back,  or  ripping 
up  his  skin  with  a  tremendous  gash.  The 
whale  is  still  more  irritated  by  the  wound, 
which  becomes  fatal  only  when  it  pene- 
trates the  fat ;  and  thus,  pursuing  and 
pursued,  striking  and  stabbing,  the  en- 
gagement only  ends  with  the  death  of 
one  of  the  unwieldy  combatants. 
Rostrum  of  Sawfish  While  most  fishes  rely  only  upon  their 

(Pristis  antiquonirQj,  show- 

mg  the  marginal  teeth,  teeth,  their  physical  strength,  or  their 
rapidity  for  attack  or  defence,  some  have  been  gifted  with  the 
wonderful  power  of  stunning  their  enemies  or  their  victims  by 
electrical  discharge.  In  no  other  class  of  animals  do  we  find 
creatures  similarly  armed;  and  it  is  indeed  one  of  the  inscrutable 
mysteries  of  creation,  that  the  powerful  weapon  of  a  galvanic 
battery,  which  man  lias,  learned  to  wield  only  after  attaining 


ELECTRICAL   FISHES. 


255 


a  high  degree  of  civilisation,  should  have  been  bestowed,  most 
likely  long  before  man  appeared  upon  the  stage  of  life,  upon  a 
few  members  of  the  finny  race,  and  to  these  alone  of  all  created 
beings. 

The  electrical  organs  vary  considerably  in  situation  and  form 
in  the  different  fishes  to  which  they  have  been  given.  Thus  in 
the  electric  eel  (Gymnotus  electricus),  which  inhabits  the  large 
rivers  of  South  America,  they  run  along  the  tail,  while  in  the  tor- 
pedo of  the  Mediterranean 
they  are  situated  on  each  side 
of  the  anterior  part  of  the 
body.  In  this  formidable 
ray  they  consist  of  a  mul- 
titude of  small  prismatic 
columns  (E),  invested  with 
strong  fascial  coverings. 
These  prisms  lie  close  toge- 
ther, parallel  with  one  ano- 
ther, and  perpendicularly 
between  the  dorsal  and  ven- 
tral surfaces  of  the  fish,  so 
that  their  extremities  are 
separated  from  these  sur- 
faces only  by  their  fascial 
and  common  integuments. 
When  these  are  removed 

the    Columns    present    Some-  Muscles  an<3-  Electric  Batteries  of  the  Torpedo. 
r  (Owen's  Lectures.) 

thing  of  the  appearance  of 

a  honeycomb.  Each  column  is  again  divided  into  numerous 
distinct  compartments,  by  delicate  membranous  partitions 
placed  horizontally  at  very  short  distances  from  each  other 
(150  to  an  inch),  and  covered  with  a  fine  network  of  arteries, 
veins,  and  nerves.  The  interstices  between  them  are  filled  with 
a  gelatinous  mass. 

In  the  electric  eel  a  similar  subdivision  takes  place  by  means 
of  longitudinal  plates  and  transverse  membranes,  which  how- 
ever are  placed  much  more  closely  together  than  in  the  torpedo, 
as  240  of  them  have  been  counted  in  an  inch.  By  this  structure 
an  immense  discharging  surface  is  obtained ;  for  in  a  torpedo  of 
ordinary  size,  where  the  electrical  organ  is  seven  or  eight  inches 


256  THE    HAKMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

long,  it  is  equal  to  fifty-eight  square  feet,  and  in  an  electrical 
eel  four  feet  in  length,  it  is  at  least  123  square  feet  in  extent. 

In  both  these  fishes  the  electricity  generated  by  the  action 
of  these  wonderful  batteries,  besides  its  benumbing  and  stun- 
ning effects  on  living  animals,  renders  the  needle  magnetic, 
decomposes  chemical  compounds,  emits  the  spark,  and  in  short 
exercises  all  the  other  known  powers  of  the  ordinary  electricity 
developed  in  inorganic  matter,  or  by  the  artificial  apparatus  of 
the  laboratory. 

Electrical  fishes  exert  their  peculiar  power  only  occasionally  and 
at  irregular  intervals,  and  chiefly  when  excited  by  the  approach 
of  some  animal,  or  by  the  irritation  of  their  surface  by  some 
foreign  body.  The  discharge,  both  with  regard  to  time  and 
intensity,  seems  to  be  dependent  on  an  exertion  of  the  will. 
Sometimes  the  torpedo  buries  itself  in  the  sand  left  dry  at  ebb- 
tide, and  it  has  occasionally  happened,  according  to  some  natu- 
ralists, that  persons  walking  across  the  sand  and  treading  upon 
the  spot  beneath  which  the  electrical  fish  lay  concealed,  have 
received  a  discharge  strong  enough  to  throw  them  down. 

The  effects  produced  by  the  gymnotus  are  more  severe,  for 
those  eels  are  able  when  in  full  vigour  to  kill  the  largest  animals, 
when  they  suddenly  unload  their  electrical  organs  in  a  favoura- 
ble direction.  All  other  fishes,  aware  of  their  power,  fly  at  the 
sight  of  the  formidable  gymnotus.  They  stun  even  the  angler 
on  the  high  river-bank,  the  moist  line  serving  as  a  conductor 
for  the  electric  fluid. 

The  capture  of  these  eels  affords  a  highly  entertaining  and 
animated  scene.  Mules  and  horses  are  driven  by  the  Indians 
into  the  streams  or  marshes  which  they  infest,  until  the  un- 
wonted noise  and  splashing  of  the  waters  rouse  the  fishes  to  an 
attack.  Gliding  along  they  creep  under  the  belly  of  the  horses, 
many  of  whom  die  from  the  shock  of  their  strokes  ;  while  others, 
with  head  erect  and  dilated  nostrils,  endeavour  to  flee  from  the 
electric  storm  which  they  have  aroused.  But  the  Indians,  armed 
with  long  poles  and  uttering  wild  cries,  drive  them  back  again  into 
the  pool.  Gradually  the  unequal  contest  subsides.  Like  spent 
thunderclouds  the  exhausted  fishes  disperse,  for  they  require  a 
long  rest  and  plentiful  food  to  repair  the  loss  of  their  galvanic 
powers.  Their  shocks  grow  weaker  aud  weaker.  Terrified  by 
the  noise  of  the  horses,  they  timidly  approach  the  banks,  when, 


FORMS    OF    FISHES.  257 

wounded  with  harpoons,  they  are  dragged  on  shore  with  dry  and 
nonconducting  pieces  of  wood,  and  thus  the  strange  combat 
ends. 

In  no  class  of  the  animal  kingdom  do  we  find  such  diversity 
of  form  as  in  that  of  fishes.  Some  amongst  them  are  perfectly 
spherical,  others  flat  or  circular ;  but  generally  they  are  of  an 
elongated  oval  shape,  a  figure  which  enables  them  with  greater 
celerity  and  ease  than  any  other  to  pass  through  the  water. 
Their  viscera  are  packed  in  a  small  compass  in  a  cavity  brought 
forwards  close  to  the  head,  and  whilst  the  consequent  suppres- 
sion of  the  neck  gives  the  advantage  of  a  more  fixed  and  resisting- 
connection  of  the  head  to  the  trunk,  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
body  behind  is  left  free  for  the  development  and  allocation  of 
the  powerful  muscular  masses  which  are  to  move  the  gradually- 
tapering  tail,  whose  lateral  rapidly-alternating  strokes  are  its- 
chief  means  of  progression  through  the  water.  We  wisely 
endeavour  to  imitate  this  peculiar  shape  in  the  construction  of 


Skeleton  of  the  Perch. 

our  ships,  yet  the  rapidity  of  our  fastest  clippers  is  nothing  to 
the  velocity  of  animals  that  have  been  specially  formed  for 
natation  by  an  All  wise  Hand.  The  energetic  action  of  the  tail 
is  assisted  by  the  dorsal  (A),  caudal  (B),  and  anal  (c)  fins,  which 
serve  by  their  vertical  position  to  increase  the  rowing  surface, 
and  thus  add  considerably  to  the  rapidity  of  motion;  while 
the  pectoral  (D)  and  ventral  (E)  fins,  which  correspond  to  the  fore 
and  hind  limbs  of  the  higher  vertebrates,  are  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  directing  the  movements  of  the  animal.  With 
the  help  of  these  highly  flexible  organs,  fishes  can  turn  about 


258  -     THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

in  the  water  as  they  please ;  and  it  is  curious  to  observe  how, 
alternately  expanding  or  contracting  one  fin  or  the  other,  they 
gracefully  plough  the  liquid  element  in  every  direction. 

It  is  no  less  wonderful  how  perfectly  the  size  and  texture  of 
the  fins  correspond  with  the  habits  and  necessities  of  the  dif- 
ferent species  of  fishes.  Those  which  traverse  vast  spaces  of  the 
ocean  are  furnished  with  large  and  strong  fins,  to  enable  them 
to  struggle  against  swelling  waves  and  rapid  currents  ;  while 
these  organs  are  soft  in  the  species  which  confine  themselves  to 
more  tranquil  waters,  or  habitually  reside  in  greater  depths  un- 
troubled by  the  winds  which  agitate  the  surface. 

In  the  snake-formed  fishes,  where  the  whole  vertebral  column 
is  extremely  flexible,  and  consequently  renders  the  assistance  of 
the  fins  less  necessary,  these  ancillary  organs  are  reduced  in 
size  and  number;  while  in  the  exocoeti  or  flying-fishes,  the 
pectoral  fins  are  of  so  great  a  length  as  to  be  able  to  carry  them 
like  wings  a  great  distance  through  the  air.  Thus  they  frequently 
escape  into  another  element  from  the  pursuit  of  the  arrowy 
bonito  or  the  darting  dolphin ;  and  though  gulls  and  frigate- 
birds  may  seize  them  now  and  then  during  their  aerial  flight, 
yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  have  good  reason  to  be 
thankful  for  the  gift  of  their  pinion-fins,  without  which  they  never 
could  have  maintained  themselves  on  the  high  seas  along  with 
their  predaceous  pursuers. 

To  enable  the  fish  to  rise  and  sink  in  the  water  without 
continued  muscular  effort,  they  have  been  provided  with  the 
air-bladder.  This  hydrostatic  apparatus  is  of  various  shapes, - 
but  always  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  contain,  when  it  is  dis- 
tended, as  many  cubic  inches  of  air  as  will  render  the  fish  spe- 
cifically lighter  than  water  ;  and  as  the  specific  gravities  of  air 
and  water  are  to  each  other  nearly  as  1'815,  a  small  volume 
is  sufficient  to  render  the  lesser  fishes  lighter  than  the  me- 
dium they  inhabit.  When  they  contract  this  remarkable 
gas-reservoir,  or  press  out  the  included  air  by  means  of  the 
abdominal  muscles,  the  bulk  of  the  body  is  diminished,  its 
weight  in  proportion  to  the  water  is  increased,  and  the  fish 
swims  easily  at  a  greater  depth.  The  contrary  takes  place  on 
relaxing  the  tension  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  and  thus  we  see 
fishes  rise  and  fall  in  their  denser  element  by  the  application  of 
the  same  physical  law  which  is  made  use  of  by  our  aeronauts 


AIK-BLADDER   AND    GILLS   OF   FISHES.  259 

to  scale  the  heavens  or  to  descend  again  upon  the  earth.  The 
position  of  the  air-bladder  immediately  under  the  spine  and 
above  the  centre  of  gravity,  causes  the  fish  to  rise  without  the 
danger  of  turning  over  on  its  back.  Thus  the  air-bladder  is  a 
highly  important  auxiliary  organ  of  locomotion,  and  affords  an 
illustration  of  one  of  the  many  evidences  of  design  in  the  primary 
formation  of  aquatic  animals. 

In  the  flying-fishes,  whose  peculiar  habits  rendered  a  greater 
lightness  of  body  extremely  desirable,  it  is  of  enormous  size,  so 
that  when  distended  it  fills  almost  the  entire  abdominal  cavity ; 
while  in  those  fishes  which  are  destined  to  live  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  or  habitually  to  conceal  themselves  in  the  mud,  it  is 
either  very  small  or  entirely  wanting — for  economical  Nature 
constantly  regulates  her  gifts  according  to  the  wants  of  her 
creatures. 

The  gills  of  the  fishes  are  as  beautifully  constructed  for  aquatic 
respiration  as  the  lungs  of  the  terrestrial  vertebrate  animals  for 
breathing  in  the  air.  In  most  fishes,  comprising  all  the  bony 
fishes  and  the  sturgeons,  among  those  which  have  a  cartilaginous 
skeleton,  we  find,  in  the  interior  of  the  mouth  at  each  side,  five 
apertures  separated  from  each  other  by  four  crooked  parallel 
and  unequal  bones,  and  leading  to  a  cavity  which  is  closed  on 
the  outside  by  an  operculum  or  cover.  In  this  cavity,  and  to 
the  external  convex  surface  of  each  of  the  four  bones  or  branchial 
arches,  is  attached  a  double  series  of  flat  elongated  cartilaginous 
Iamina3,  tapering  gradually  towards  their  extremities ;  the  whole 
forming  a  crescent-shaped  framework  toothed  like  a  comb,  over 
which  is  spread  the  delicately- fringed  and  highly  vascular  mem- 
brane that  constitutes  the  respiratory  surface.  Over  this  the 
water  taken  in  at  the  mouth  is  made  to  pass  as  it  issues  through 
the  opercular  cavities,  and  in  this  way  the  branchias,  being  per- 
petually bathed  with  aerated  water,  perform  the  same  office  as 
the  lungs  of  an  air-breathing  animal. 

This  transmission  of  the  water  in  one  direction  is  in  more 
than  one  respect  a  most  wise  provision  of  Nature,  for  if  the 
fishes  were  obliged  to  receive  and  reject  the  water  by  the 
same  aperture  (as  we  do  the  air),  each  respiration  would  evi- 
dently drive  them  backwards,  and  consequently  retard  their 
movements.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  delicate  fringes  of  the 
gills  must  have  been  liable  to  perpetual  derangement,  if  the 


260  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

water  had  been  made  to  pass  through  them  in  two  opposite 
directions. 

In  the  sharks  and  rays  we  find  a  different  arrangement  of  the 
gills,  as  here  the  branchial  arches  are  not  freely  suspended  in 
the  branchial  chamber,  but  stretching  across  its  cavity  divide  it 
like  so  many  bulkheads  into  five  distinct  compartments,  whose 
walls  are  tapestried  with  the  innumerable  folds  of  the  branchial 
membrane.  The  water  entering  the  mouth  does  not  escape 
through  an  opercular  opening,  but  through  five  distinct  orifices 
situated  on  each  side  of  the  body. 

In  the  lamprey  and  hag  the  branchial  apparatus  on  each 
side  is  similarly  divided  into  seven  compartments ;  but  these 
fishes,  from  the  peculiarities  of  their 
habits,  require  another  modification  in 
the  construction  of  the  organs  of  respira- 
tion, seeing  that  while  they  rest  fixed  by 
their  suctorial  mouths  to  the  surfaces  of 
stones  or  other  foreign  bodies,  or  while 
they  are  compelled  to  remain  with  their 
heads  deeply  plunged  into  the  flesh  of  the 
prey  upon  which  they  live,  the  admission 
of  water  into  the  mouth  and  its  subsequent 
expulsion  through  the  gill-openings  (i) 
would  in  their  case  be  impracticable.  Here, 
therefore,  a  framework  of  cartilaginous 
pieces  forms  a  kind  of  elastic  thorax  around 
the  regions  of  the  body  where  the  bran- 
chia?  are  situated,  and  by  its  alternate 
movements  of  contraction  and  dilatation 
perpetually  sucks  in  the  water  and  again 
expels  it  through  the  external  openings. 

In  the  myxine  or  hag  these  orifices  are 
moreover  situated  very  far  back  in   com- 
parison with  the  usual  situation  of  the  gill- 
OpeningSj  so  that  the  creature  is  able  to 
a  cavity  communicating  with    respire   while  deeply  plunging  into   the 

the  respiratory  sacculi  of  r  J 

both  sides.  soft  parts  ofits  unfortunate  victim.     Thus 

even  in  this  meanest  and  lowest  of  all  vertebrate  animals  we 
find  a  remarkable  adaptation  of  its  construction  to  its  wants, 
and  the  proof  that  it  has  been  as  well  taken  care  of  by  the  Creator 
as  the  highest  members  of  its  class. 


RESPIRATION   OF   EELS.  261 

Though  the  whole  breathing  apparatus  of  a  fish  is  comprised 
in  a  small  compass,  its  surface  if  fully  extended  would  occupy 
a  very  considerable  space — that  of  the  common  skate,  for  in- 
stance, being  equal  to  the  whole  external  surface  of  the  human 
body.  This  single  fact  may  convince  us  of  the  numberless 
ramifications  and  convolutions  of  the  gills,  and  how  wonderfully 
Nature  has  contrived  to  multiply  within  very  narrow  limits  the 
points  of  contact  between  the  minute  bloodvessels  and  the 
aerated  water  that  flows  along  their  sides.  It  may  seem  strange 
that  when  fishes  are  taken  out  of  their  native  element  they 
generally  die  almost  immediately  from  want  of  air :  such,  how- 
ever, is  the  case,  for  the  gills  being  no  longer  floated  out  col- 
lapse, and  thus,  by  preventing  the  passage  of  blood  through  the 
delicate  branchial  arteries,  put  a  stop  to  the  circulation  as  com- 
pletely as  strangulation  could  do. 

In  some  genera,  however,  a  provision  is  made  to  permit  of  a 
more  lengthened  existence  out  of  the  water,  where  the  habits  of 
the  fish  render  such  an  arrangement  necessary.  In  the  whole 
tribe  of  eels,  for  example,  the  external  fissure  is  removed  very 
far  back  and  reduced  to  a  very  small  vertical  slit,  converting  the 
cavity  in  which  the  branchiae  are  lodged  into  an  elongated 
chamber,  in  which  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  can  be  retained 
to  allow  respiration  to  continue  for  a  considerable  time  in  the 
air.  Thus  the  eels  are  able  to  travel  during  the  night  over  the 
moist  meadows,  in  search  of  frogs  or  other  suitable  food,  or  to 
change  their  situation. 

In  several  tropical  fishes  we  find  the  gills  communicating  with 
a  cellular  labyrinth  containing  water,  which  serves  to  keep  them 
moist.  It  is  owing  to  such  an  apparatus,  without  which  they 
could  not  possibly  exist  during  the  long-continued  droughts  of 
the  arid  season,  that  the  climbing  perches  of  India  (Anabas), 
the  hassar  of  Gruiana,  and  the  frogfishes  of  Ceylon  are  able  to 
wander  overland  in  search  of  their  natural  element,  when  the 
ponds  or  rivers  in  which  they  sojourned  are  dried  up.  An 
admirable  instinct  teaches  them  to  shape  their  course  towards 
the  nearest  pool,  and  the  peculiar  formation  of  their  fins  assists 
them  in  their  migrations. 

Thus  in  the  frogfish  the  bones  of  the  carpus  form  arms  that 
support  the  pectoral  fins,  which  thus  perform  the  office  of  feet ; 
and  the  hassar,  projecting  itself  forwards  on  its  bony  pectoral 


262  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

fins  by  the  elastic  spring  of  the  tail,  exerted  sidewise,  proceeds  in 
this  manner  nearly  as  fast  as  a  man  will  leisurely  walk.  The 
strong  scuta  or  bands  which  envelope  the  body,  in  the  manner 
of  the  plates  under  the  belly  of  serpents,  also  greatly  facilitate 
its  march,  as  they  can  be  raised  or  depressed  by  a  voluntary  power. 
When  the  pools  and  rivers  are  everywhere  dried  up,  these 
migratory  fishes  bury  themselves  in  the  mud  as  a  last  resource, 


Frogfish. 

and  fall  into  a  kind  of  asphyxia,  or  lethargy,  till  the  rainy  season 
recals  them  again  to  life. 

In  general  the  manner  in  which  the  fishes  procure  their  food 
is  extremely  simple,  and  requires  but  a  very  small  amount  of 
intelligence  or  art :  they  see  their  prey,  rush  furiously  upon  it, 
and  devour  it  with  greedy  haste. 

Some  species,  however,  have  recourse  to  stratagem  for  this 
purpose.  Thus  the  stargazer  (  Uranoscopus  scaber),  hidden  in 
the  mud,  exposes  only  the  top  of  the  head,  and  waving  the  beards 
with  which  his  lips  are  furnished  in  various  directions,  decoys 
the  smaller  fishes  and  marine  insects  that  mistake  these  organs 
for  worms. 

The  position  of  the  eye,  placed  on  the  upper  surface  of  the 


ARCHER-FISHES.  263 

nearly  cubical  head,  and  directed  towards  the  heaven,  is  no  less 
admirably  adapted  for  this  '  artful  dodge '  than  the  vertically -< 
cleft  mouth  which  enables  the  cunning  fish  to  swallow  his  prey 
without  deranging  his  position. 

The  angler  or  sea-devil  (Lophius  piscatorius),  a  slow  swim- 
mer, who  would  very  often  be  obliged  to  fast  if  he  had  merely 
the  strength  of  his  fins  to  rely  upon, 
uses  a  similar  deceit.     Lying  as  it 
were  in  ambush  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea,  he  stirs  up  the  mud  and  sand,  and, 
hidden  by  the  obscurity  thus  produced, 
attracts    many  a  prize   by    leisurely       Angler  (Lophms  plscatOT1U3)> 
moving  to  and  fro   the  two  slender 

and  elongated  appendages  on  his  head — the  first  of  which,  the 
better  to  deceive,  is  broad  and  flattened  at  the  end,  inviting 
pursuit  by  the  shining  silvery  appearance  of  the  dilated  part. 

But  of  all  the  fishes  that  prefer  artifice  to  violence  for  the 
obtaining  of  their  food,  there  are  none  to  equal  the  chsetodons 
and  archer-fishes  of  the  Eastern  seas.  When  the  rostrated 
chastodon,  a  native  of  the  fresh-waters  of  India,  sees  a  fly 
alighting  on  any  of  the  plants  which  overhang  the  shallow 
stream,  he  approaches  with  the  utmost  caution,  coming  as  per- 
pendicularly as  possible  under  the  object  of  his  meditated 
attack ;  then  placing  himself  in  an  oblique  direction,  with  the 
mouth  and  eyes  near  the  surface,  he  remains  a  moment  im- 
moveable,  leisurely  taking  his  aim,  like  a  firstrate  marksman. 
His  eyes  steadfastly  fixed  on  the  insect,  he  darts  at  it  a  drop  of 
water  from  his  long  tubular  snout,  ex- 
pressly formed  for  his  feats  of  archery, 
but  without  protruding  his  mouth 
above  the  surface,  from  which  only 
the  drop  seems  to  rise,  but  with  such 
effect  that,  though  the  distance  may  Archer-fish 

be  four  or  five  or  six  feet,  it  seldom  (Toxotes 

fails  to  bring  down  its  prey  into  the  water.  As  their  name 
indicates,  the  archer-fishes  are  equally  expert.  The  Javanese, 
who  take  a  delight  in  seeing  them  show  their  skill,  keep  them 
as  a  kind  of  household  animals,  and  frequently  amuse  themselves 
by  bringing  flies  or  ants  within  a  convenient  distance  of  their 
almost  unerring  aim. 


264  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

As  fishes  breathe  by  the  medium  of  water,  and  thus  profit  only 
by  the  small  quantity  of  oxygen  contained  in  the  air  it  has 
absorbed,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  circulation  of  their  blood 
is  extremely  slow.  Their  heart,  in  comparison  with  ours,  is 
in  fact  but  half  a  one,  as  it  merely  serves  to  force  the  venous 
blood  into  the  gills,  whence  the  aerated  blood  does  not  flow  back 
to  the  heart  as  with  us,  to  be  rapidly  and  strongly  propelled 
through  the  body,  but  proceeds  immediately  to  the  arteries, 
which  are  merely  aided  by  the  contraction  of  the  surrounding 
muscular  fibres.  As  respiration  is  a  species  of  combustion,  it  is 
evident  that  only  a  cold  blood  could  be  formed  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, and,  as  may  be  expected,  the  blunt  sensations  of  the 
fishes  harmonize  with  the  torpid  nature  of  the  fluid  from  which 
their  organs  derive  their  sustenance.  Fishes,  in  fact,  of  all 
the  vertebrates,  give  the  least  evidence  of  sensibility.  Having 
no  elastic  air  at  their  disposal,  they  are  dumb  or  nearly  so,  and 
all  the  sentiments  which  voice  awakens  are  unknown  to  them. 

Being  only  able  to  support  themselves  by  pursuing  a  prey 
which  itself  swims  more  or  less  rapidly,  and  having  no  means 
of  seizing  it  but  by  swallowing,  a  delicate  perception  of  savours 
would  have  been  useless  if  Nature  had  bestowed  it ;  but  1  heir 
tongue,  almost  motionless,  often  entirely  bony,  and  only  furnished 
with  a  few  slender  nerves,  shows  us  that  this  organ  is  as  obtuse 
as  its  little  use  would  lead  us  to  imagine  it  to  be. 

Their  sense  of  smell  is  equally  imperfect,  and  their  touch — 
almost  annihilated  at  the  surface  of  their  body  by  the  scales 
which  clothe  them,  and  in  their  limbs  by  the  want  of  flexibility 
in  their  rays — is  confined  to  the  ends  of  their  lips,  and  even 
these  in  some  are  osseous  and  insensible.  Their  ear,  which  is 
entirely  enclosed  in  the  cranium,  can  hardly  suffice  to  distin- 
guish the  most  striking  sounds.  Their  eyes  finally  are  motion- 
less as  it  were,  and  void  of  all  that  fire  and  animation  which 
gives  so  much  expression  to  the  physiognomy  of  the  higher 
animals ;  but  the  structure  of  these  organs  is  admirably  adapted 
to  the  element  in  which  they  live,  by  the  spherical  form 
and  great  size  and  hardness  of  the  crystalline  lens,  which  by 
concentrating  the  rays  of  light  enables  them  to  see  with  distinct- 
ness even  through  so  dense  a  medium  as  that  which  surrounds 
them.  This  is,  in  truth,  one  of  those  wonderful  provisions  made 
for  the  particular  necessities  of  every  living  thing. 


THE   EYE    OF   FISHES. 


265 


On  a  closer  examination,  the  lens  is  found  to  be  composed  of 
several  thousands  of  regular  transparent  laminae  or  spherical 
coats  of  uniform  thick- 
ness: each  of  these  la- 
minaB  consists  of  about 
2,500  fibres,  extending 
from  pole  to  pole  of  the 
sphere,  and  being  conse- 
quently widest  at  the 
equator.  The  mode  in 
which  these  fibres  are 
fastened  together,  so  as 
to  resist  separation  and 
form  a  continuous  spheri- 
cal surface,  is  very  cu- 
rious ;  the  contiguous 

0  Direction  ot  Fibres  in  Crystalline  Lens  of  Cod 

fibres  being  united   by  (magnified). 

means  of  teeth,  about  12,000  in  each  fibre,  exactly  like  those  of 
rackwork — the  projecting  teeth  of  one  fibre  entering  into  the 
hollows  between  the  teeth  of 
the  adjacent  one.  As  the 
fibres  gradually  diminish  in 
size  towards  the  centre  of  the 
lens  and  the  teeth  in  the  same 
proportion,  so  that  the  number 
of  fibres  or  teeth  in  any  spheri- 
cal coat  or  lamina  is  the  same 
from  whatever  part  of  the  lens 
it  is  detached,  it  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  calculate  their  number. 
Thus  the  lens  of  a  small  cod, 
four-tenths  of  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter, contains  no  less  than 
five  millions  of  fibres  and  sixty- 
two  thousand  five  hundred  millions  of  teeth  !  '  A  transparent 
lens  exhibiting  such  a  mechanism,'  says  Sir  David  Brewster, 
who  was  the  first  to  investigate  its  wonders,  *'  may  well  excite 
our  astonishment  and  admiration  ! ' 

As  the  eyes  of  the  fishes  are  perpetually  bathed  by  the  water  in 
which  they  live,  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  lachrymal  apparatus 


Teeth  of  Fibres  in  Crystalline  Lens  of  Cod 
(highly  magnified). 


266  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

being  totally  wanting  in  their  whole  race ;  and  as  they  are 
neither  exposed  to  extreme  variations  of  light,  nor  to  the  contact 
of  dust,  they  generally  also  require  no  eyelid  for  their  protec- 
tion. In  the  common  eel  however,  which  bores  cavities  in  the 
sand  and  mud  at  the  bottom  of  the  water,  the  eye  is  supplied 
with  a  hard  and  transparent  membrane,  which  it  can  draw  over 
the  pupil  at  pleasure,  thus  effectually  guarding  these  organs  from 
injury.  The  eyeball  of  the  herring  is  also  defended  by  two  vertical 
and  transparent  folds  of  the  skin ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  observation 
that  where  these  folds  decussate  one  another  at  their  inferior  ex- 
tremities, the  anterior  one  overlaps  the  posterior — so  slight  an 
impediment  to  progressive  motion  as  the  contrary  position 
would  have  occasioned,  having  thus  been  foreseen  and  avoided. 

As  the  external  senses  of  fishes  give  them  but  few  lively  and 
distinct  impressions,  their  pleasures  are  little  varied ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  painful  impressions  they  receive  from  the  ex- 
ternal world  are  likewise  circumscribed  within  narrower  limits 
than  those  which  bound  the  sensations  of  the  birds  and  quadru- 
peds. Though  often  subject  to  the  terrors  of  flight,  they  in  their 
turn  enjoy  the  excitement  of  pursuit :  and  a  life  of  liberty  makes 
them  amends  for  the  violent  end  to  which  they  are  generally 
doomed.  Many  a  domestic  animal  or  captive  bird  would  willingly 
exchange  its  hard  lot  for  the  free  life  of  the  fish,  who  from  the 
greater  simplicity  of  his  structure,  his  want  of  higher  sensibili- 
ties, his  excellent  digestion,  and  the  more  equal  temperature  of 
the  element  in  which  he  lives,  remains  free  from  many  of  the 
diseases  which  torment  the  higher  animals. 

The  affections  of  fishes  are  cold  as  themselves ;  but,  though  the 
vast  majority  evince  no  sign  of  parental  affection,  and  abandon 
their  offspring  to  the  mercy  of  the  sea  and  their  predatory 
companions,  from  the  instant  that  the  ova  are  shed,  yet  some  at 
least  show  glimpses  of  that  self-denying  instinctive  love  for 
their  young  which  often  beams  forth  in  so  touching  a  manner 
among  the  birds  or  quadrupeds. 

Thus,  to  preserve  his  eggs  from  the  voracity  of  his  brothers, 
the  male  stickleback  collects  the  delicate  fronds  of  water-plants 
or  bits  of  grass  that  have  been  blown  into  the  river,  and  forms 
them  into  a  nest,  the  entrance  of  which  he  guards  with  the 
most  sedulous  care — repelling  with  tooth  and  prickles  all  other 
sticklebacks  that  approach  the  nest.  If  the  enemy  is  too  power- 


INSTINCTS    OF   NATUKE.  267 

fill,  he  has  recourse  to  artifice — darts  forth,  seems  actively 
engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  an  imaginary  prey,  and  often  succeeds 
in  diverting  the  aggressor's  attention  from  his  nest. 

The  black  goby,  an  inhabitant  of  the  Mediterranean,  likewise 
deposits  its  spawn  in  burrows  dug  among  the  roots  of  the  sea- 
grass,  and,  watching  over  the  entrance  of  the  house,  opposes 
sharp  rows  of  teeth  to  every  intruder ;  and  the  hassar,  which  I 
have  already  had  occasion  to  mention  for  his  extraordinary 
land-excursions,  is  no  less  remarkable  for  his  habit  of  constructing 
nests,  which  are  quite  as  well-formed  as  those  of  the  stickle- 
back, and  are  made  of  grass  blades,  straws,  and  leaves.  These 
nests  are  very  plentiful  in  the  little  muddy  streamlets  that  in- 
tersect the  sugar-marshes  of  Guiana,  so  that  the  habits  of  the 
fish  can  be  easily  watched.  The  parent-fish  is  very  jealous  of 
the  eggs,  and  waits  near  them  until  they  are  hatched,  and  the 
young  family  committed  to  the  water.  The  parental  solicitude 
of  the  hassar  is  shamefully  misused  by  man  for  his  destruction : 
a  small  basket  is  held  before  the  entrance,  then  the  nest  i$ 
gently  struck  with  a  stick;  and  furious,  with  extended  fins,  whose 
sharp  points  are  able  to  inflict  a  painful  wound,  the  poor 
hassar  darts  into  the  fatal  basket. 


268  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

REPTILES. 

Defences  of  the  Chelonians,  Lizards,  Frogs,  and  Toads — Locomotion  of  Serpents — 
Legs  of  the  Tortoise  and  Turtles— The  Gecko's  Foot— The  Chameleon— The 
Viper's  Fang — How  Serpents  swallow  their  Food — Tongue  of  the  Chameleon  and 
of  the  Crocodile— Vertebral  Teeth  of  the  Deirodon — Maternal  Affection  of  the 
Cayman  —  Hybernation  —  Usefulness  of  Reptiles — Their  Enemies  and  their 
Fecundity. 

UNSOCIAL,  indolent,  obtuse,  the  friends  of  darkness  and  solitude, 
as  if  ashamed  of  exposing  their  hideousness  to  the  broad  light  of 
day,  the  Reptiles  seem  to  be  fit  objects  both  of  abhorrence  and 
pity ;  and  yet  their  structure  is  as  perfect  and  harmonious  in 
its  way  as  that  of  the  most  highly-gifted  among  the  birds  and 
quadrupeds,  and  all  their  wants  have  been  as  carefully  provided 
for. 

Who,  on  seeing  a  tortoise  slowly  creeping  along,  would  not 
suppose  that  so  slothful  an  animal  must,  necessarily,  succumb 
to  the  attacks  of  enemies  infinitely  its  superiors  in  swiftness, 
in  cunning,  or  in  strength  ?  And  yet  it  has,  in  most  cases,  but 
little  to  fear  from  their  violence  or  speed,  for  its  spine,  ribs,  and 
breastbone  are  wonderfully  developed  and  soldered  together, 
so  as  to  enclose  the  whole  animal  in  a  solid  panoply  of  bone. 
This  harness,  as  trustworthy  as  any  in  which  the  knights  of  old 
encased  their  limbs  when  about  to  plunge  into  the  tumult  of 
battle,  is  covered  by  the  skin,  which  in  its  turn  is  plated  with 
large  scales,  while  all  the  muscles  and  viscera  are  contained 
in  the  inner  cavity.  Only  the  head,  feet,  and  tail  protrude 
through  openings  between  the  dorsal  shield  or  carapace  and  the 
ventral  cuirass  or  plastrum,  but  can  at  the  creature's  will  be 
withdrawn  entirely  under  the  former.  Thus,  at  the  approach  of 
danger,  the  tortoise  need  only  shrink  under  the  cover  of  its  im- 


AKMOUR   OF   THE   TORTOISE. 


269 


penetrable  bulwark  to  resist  every  attack  by  tooth  or  nail.  The 
ventral  part  is  less  strongly  plated,  but  most  of  the  creature's 
enemies  find  it  no  easy  task  to  turn  it  on  its  back,  and  thus  to 
assail  the  fortress  on  its  weakest  side.  As  several  species  attain 


a  good  defence ; 
could,  after  all, 
Ifity  the  want  of 

head  °ut  °f  its 

well  provided  for. 


.ill!.  Id  € 


270  THE    HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

their  reach.  Thus  the  loggerhead  turtle  roams  like  a  famished 
tiger  through  the  tropical  ocean,  and  the  river-tortoises  are  the 
terror  of  the  fishes  or  even  of  the  water-birds,  whom  they  fre- 
quently surprise  by  suddenly  darting  their  long  necks  at  them, 
when  they  incautiously  fly  too  near  the  surface  of  the  treacherous 
stream.  Though  deprived  of  teeth,  the  turtles  and  tortoises  are 
able  to  inflict  a,  severe  bite  with  their  horny  jaws,  which  fit  one 
over  the  other  like  a  pair  of  shears,  and  whose  working  surface 
is  trenchant  in  the  carnivorous  species,  but  variously  sculp- 
tured and  adapted  for  both  cutting  and  bruising  in  the  vegetable- 
feeders. 

Like  the  turtles  and  tortoises,  the  lizard  tribes  are  spread  far 
and  wide  over  the  sea  and  the  land ;  and  one  genus — which, 
though  harmless  and  inoffensive,  bears  the  formidable  name  of 
dragon — is  furnished  with  large  expansile  cutaneous  processes, 
which  enable  it,  like  the  flying-squirrel,  to  vault  through  the  air, 
and  spring  from  branch  to  branch  among  the  lofty  trees  in  which 
it  resides.  In  this  order  also  those  that  frequent  the  rivers  or 
lagunes,  such  as  the  terrible  crocodiles  or  the  water-lizards  of 
the  Indian  Archipelago,  are  slow  and  awkward  when  they  creep 
on  land,  swift  and  alert  in  their  own  element;  but  the  land- 
lizards,  unlike  the  tortoises,  are  almost  all  distinguished  by  the 
swiftness  of  their  motions,  so  that  they  can,  if  pursued,  disappear 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  in  the  crevice  of  a  rock  or  a  hole 
in  the  ground — and  thus  they  make  up  by  their  agility  for  the 
want  of  a  protecting  harness. 

The  frogs  and  toads,  though  naked,  and  without  claws  or  sharp 
teeth  to  offer  an  active  resistance  to  hostile  assault,  are  still  suf- 
ficiently protected  against  a  number  of  enemies. 

Thus  the  strong  muscular  legs  of  the  edible  frog,  who  loves 
to  warm  his  green  livery  on  the  sunny  banks  of  his  pond, 
render  him  as  good  services  as  he  could  possibly  expect  from  the 
best  suit  of  armour.  There  he  will  sit  motionless  for  hours  toge- 
ther, enjoying  his  refreshing  air-bath,  and  imbibing  heat  and 
light  at  every  pore ;  but  as  soon  as  his  sharp  ear  detects  the 
approach  of  man  or  beast,  one  single  bound  sends  him  plump 
into  the  water,  and  a  few  energetic  strokes  propel  him  far  out 
of  reach.  Such  is  his  muscular  power  that,  with  one  leap, 
he  can  jump  twenty  times  his  height,  or  vault  over  a  space 
fifty  times  his  length.  What  would  have  become  of  him  if  this 


MOTH7E    POWER   OF   SERPENTS.  271 

wonderful  elasticity  of  limb  did  not  assist  him  in  the  hour  of 
need? 

The  toad  has  no  agility  to  depend  upon ;  but  by  day  he 
perfectly  understands  the  art  of  concealment  under  stones  or 
mosses,  or  in  the  roots  of  trees ;  and  the  acrimonious  fluid 
which  he  suddenly  discharges  when  disturbed,  or  which,  on  irri- 
tation, exudes  from  his  skin,  may  also  serve  to  keep  off  many 
an  enemy. 

The  snakes  seem,  at  first  sight,  more  defenceless  than  all  the 
other  reptiles,  as  they  are  altogether  deprived  of  feet ;  and  yet  we 
see  them  glide  along  with  great  celerity,  and  apparently  without 
an  effort.  Thus  it  is  evident  that  a  most  excellent  locomotive 
apparatus  must  lie  concealed  within  their  cylindrical  and  naked 
body ;  and  a  closer  inspection  teaches  us  that,  by  an  admirable 
mechanism,  their  ribs  are  made  to  perform  the  office  of  legs. 
For  while  we  only  possess  twelve  pairs  of  these  bones,  joined 
together  in  front  by  means  of  the  breastbone  and  cartilaginous 
processes,  and  serving  merely  to  assist  respiration,  the  ribs  of 
serpents  are  exceedingly  numerous,  varying,  according  to  the 
proportions  of  the  species,  from  fifty-one  pairs  to  three 
hundred  and  twenty.  There  is  no  vestige  of  a  breastbone,  so 
that  each  rib  is  capable  of  individual  motion ;  and  this  faci- 
lity of  action  is  still  further  increased  by  each  pair  of  ribs  being 
moveably  articulated,  by  means  of  two  slight  concave  surfaces, 
with  the  corresponding  vertebras,  forming  a  kind  of  double  ball 
and  socket-joint.  Numerous  strong  muscles  attach  these  long 
levers  to  the  scuta  or  scales  of  the  skin,  while  others  run  from 
scale  to  scale  and  from  rib  to  rib ;  and  thus  we  can  easily  com- 
prehend how,  with  such  a  complicated  system  of  pulleys  and 
points  of  attachment,  the  reptile — bringing  up  the  tail  towards 
the  head  by  bending  the  body  into  one  or  more  curves,  and  then 
again  resting  upon  the  tail  and  extending  the  body- — is  able  to 
shoot  rapidly  along,  not  only  upon  smooth  ground  or  over  the 
rough  bark  of  trees,  but  even  from  branch  to  branch ;  as  the 
smallest  hold  suffices  for  its  stretching-out  its  body  at  a  foot's 
length  into  the  air,  and  thus  reaching  another  sallying-point  for 
further  progress.  Thus,  also,  the  serpent  does  not  feel  the  want 
of  legs,  which  would  indeed  have  been  a  great  source  of  inconveni- 
ence while  creeping  through  the  dense  bushes  or  tangled  roots,  or 
the  masses  of  dead  leaves  that  form  its  favourite  haunts ;  and 


272  THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

thus,  finally,  the  wisdom  of  its  Divine  Author  shows  itself  in 
every  movement  of  a  creature  we  are  accustomed  to  despise  and 
loathe ! 

In  those  reptiles  which  possess  limbs,  we  find*  these  organs 
harmonising  in  every  respect  with  their  mode  of  life.  In 
the  land-tortoises  the  feet  are  mere  awkward  stumps;  but 
these  short  and  seemingly  distorted  members,  terminating  in 
obtuse  claws,  answer  every  useful  purpose,  while  long  and  fleet 
limbs  would  not  only  have  been  superfluous  to  creatures  who  find 
in  abundance  the  vegetable  food  they  require,  or  who  possess  a 
sufficient  defence  against  their  enemies  in  the  impenetrable  har- 
ness which  Providence  has  given  them,  but  would,  moreover, 
have  been  at  variance  with  the  remaining  structure  of  the  animal, 
as  they  could  not  possibly  have  been  withdrawn  under  the  pro- 
tecting cover  of  the  carapace. 

In  the  turtles  the  feet,  in  perfect  harmony  with  a  different 
mode  of  life,  are  flattened  out  into  the  shape  of  fins  or  oars  ;  and 

as  in  moving  the  principal  efforts  fall 
to  the  share  of  the  forefeet,  these  are 
much  longer  and  far  more  developed 
'than  the  hinder  extremities,  whose 
action  consists  less  in  propelling  than  in 
steering.  They  are  also  assisted  in 
swimming  by  a  longer  tail,  which 

Loggerhead  Turtle.  ,   &        J 

serves  them  as  a  rudder. 

In  the  emydae,  or  marsh-tortoises,  which  form  as  it  were 
the  connecting  link  between  the  land  and  river-tortoises, 
the  toes  are  moveable,  and  furnished  with  long  nails,  so 
that  these  animals  are  well-fitted  for  moving  on  land,  while  at 
the  same  time  their  webbed  feet  are  equally  well  adapted  for 
swimming. 

According  to  the  more  or  less  aquatic  habits  of  the  various 
species,  the  feet  are  more  or  less  webbed ;  for  in  those  that 
habitually  remain  on  the  banks  of  the  lagunes,  the  connecting 
membrane  is  confined  to  the  base  of  the  toes,  while  in  those  which 
rarely  frequent  the  shore  it  sometimes  reaches  to  the  extremity 
of  the  claws ;  and  thus  the  inspection  of  the  feet  of  a  marsh- 
tortoise  gives  us  at  once  a  full  insight  into  its  habits. 

Among   the   lizards  the   Geckoes  are   distinguished   by  the 


THE    GECKO  S    TOE. 


273 


Under- surface  of 
Gecko's  Toe 
(magnified;. 


facility  with  which  they  climb  up  the  vertical  plane  of  walls,  and 
walk  in  an  inverted  position  on  the  ceilings  of  rooms.  For  this 
wonderful  faculty,  which,  to  all  appearance,  sets  the  laws  of  gra- 
vitation at  defiance,  they  are  indebted  to  an  admirable  pneumatic 
apparatus,  which  they  employ  in  a  manner  similar 
to  that  of  the  house-fly.  The  under-surface  of 
each  of  the  five  toes,  which,  with  the  exception  of 
the  thumb,  terminate  in  a  sharp  claw,  is  furnished 
both  in  the  fore  and  hind-feet  with  as  many  as  six- 
teen transverse  folds  or  plica3,  which  open  into  as 
many  cavities  or  sacks.  The  contraction  of  the 
muscles  acting  upon  these  plicae  and  sacks  erects 
the  former,  and  dilates  the  cavities  of  the  latter  ; 
the  serrated  edges  being  at  the  same  time  accu- 
rately applied  to  any  smooth  surface,  a  vacuum 
is  produced,  and  by  this  structure  the  animal  is 
enabled  to  perform  its  wonderful  equilibristic 
feats  without  fatigue  or  any  extraordinary  effort. 

The  graceful  anolis,  which  are  peculiar  to  America,  are  simi- 
larly provided  with  suckers  and  long  claws  for  the  purpose  of 
climbing,  and  moreover  their  strong  muscular  hind-legs  enable 
them  to  leap  with  singular  agility. 

The   chameleon  is  as  perfectly  fitted  for  maintaining  itself 
with  perfect  ease  and  safety  on  the  agitated  branches  of  trees 
as  the  gecko  for  climbing  on  sur- 
faces   at    every  possible    angle    of 
inclination ;  for  its  short,  strong,  and 
muscular  limbs  are  so   constructed 
that  two  thumbs  opposite  to  three 
fingers  on  the  anterior  extremity,  .chameleon. 

and    three    thumbs    Opposite    to    two  (Chameleo  Africanus.) 

fingers  on  the  posterior,  form  as  it  were  a  kind  of  pincers  or 
hand,  admirably  suited  for  a  holdfast.  This  strange  animal 
possesses  further  a  strong  flexible  and  prehensile  tail  such  as 
has  been  given  to  no  other  reptile,  and  which  of  course  renders 
it  material  assistance  in  the  maintenance  of  its  arboreal  station. 
The  skinks,  a  family  of  lizard-like  reptiles  in  which 
there  appears  to  be  a  gradual  transition  from  the  form 
of  the  lizards  to  that  of  the  serpents,  have  but  very  short  leas  - 


274  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

but  these  are  well  formed  for  burrowing,  and,  with  the  addi- 
tional assistance  of  their  flat  wedgelike  snout,  enable  them  at 
the  approach  of  an  enemy  to  disappear  under  the  sand  almost 
as  quickly  as  the  mole  burrows  in  the  ground,  or  the  seal 
dives  under  the  water. 

During  the  summer  months,  the  tree-frog  lives  chiefly  on 
the  upper  parts  of  trees,  where  it  wanders  among  the  foliage  in 
quest  of  insects,  which  it  catches  with  extreme  celerity,  either 
stealing  softly  towards  its  prey,  or  springing  upon  it  with  a 
sudden  leap.  For  this  arboreal  life  it  is  well  fitted  by  the 
peculiar  formation  of  its  toes,  all  of  which  are  terminated 
by  round,  flat  and  dilated  tips,  whose  under-surface  being 
soft  and  glutinous,  allows  it  to  climb  with  perfect  security 
and  ease  ;  it  can  also  adhere  to  any  substance  by  its  abdomen 
(which  is  covered  with  small  glandular  granules),  by  merely 
pressing  itself  against  it.  It  is  often  seen  suspending  itself  by 
its  feet  to  the  under  parts  of  the  leaves  to  enjoy  their  shade, 
while  its  green  colour  harmonising  with  that  of  the  foliage 
masks  its  presence  from  its  prey,  and  enables  it  to  escape  the 
notice  of  its  enemies. 

Thus,  however  different  in  form  or  structure,  the  locomotive 
organs  of  the  reptiles  constantly  agree  with  their  mode  of  life, 
and  a  further  examination  of  the  passive  or  active  defences  of 
these  animals  shows  us  that  everywhere  the  want  of  some 
faculty  is  compensated  by  the  possession  of  another. 

The  large  American  iguana,  for  instance,  when  overtaken  by 
one  of  its  arch-enemies,  the  various  species  of  the  formidable 
cat  tribe,  makes  use  of  its  long  and  powerful  tail  as  a  most 
effective  weapon  of  defence,  lashing  about  with  it  to  the  right 
and  left  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  even  the  jaguar  pause  in  his 
attack.  When  the*  monitor-lizard  is  pursued  by  the  huntsman, 
it  runs  as  fast  as  it  can  to  its  burrow;  but  when  intercepted 
in  its  flight,  it  defends  itself  courageously.  Its  sharp  teeth 
are  able  to  bite  through  a  strong  boot,  and  its  powerful  tail 
sends  the  dog  whom  it  hits  howling  from  the  field  of  battle, 
or  lays  him  prostrate  in  the  dust.  Besides  the  activity  of 
their  movements,  which  enables  them  to  dart  suddenly  from 
their  place  of  concealment  upon  the  beetles  flies  or  gnats  on 
which  they  principally  feed,  the  insectivorous  lizards  are 
furnished  with  an  extensible  tongue,  fissured  at  the  extremity, 


THE    CHAMELEONS    TONGUE.  '27 o 

and  thus  forming  an   excellent  apparatus  wherewith   to  catch 
their  prey. 

But  perhaps  in  no  animal  is  this  organ  more  remarkable 
than  in  the  chameleon,  where  by  its  extraordinary  power  of  ex- 
tension, and  by  the  rapidity  of  its  movements,  it  is  made  to 
compensate  for  the  extreme  sluggishness  which  characterises 
the  muscular  system  of  that  singular  creature.  The  chameleon, 
fixed  firmly  by  means  of  its  bifid  feet  and  prehensile  tail  upon 
the  bough  of  a  tree,  has  no  occasion  to  move  in  quest  of  insect 
prey,  but  waits  patiently  until  its  victims  approach  sufficiently 
near  to  be  within  reach  of  its  tongue,  which,  though  "generally 


Tongue  of  Chameleon. 

concealed  within  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  is  capable  of  being 
elongated  until  it  exceeds  in  length  the  whole  body  of  the 
animal.  No  sooner  does  a  fly  approach  within  five  or  six  inches 
of  the  chameleon,  than  the  tongue  is  slowly  protruded  for  the 
length  of  about  an  inch,  so  as  to  expose  its  thick  fleshy 
extremity,  the  end  of  which  is  divided  into  two  prominent  lips, 
and  copiously  lubricated  with  a  thick  viscid  secretion.  The 
whole  tongue  is  then  launched  out,  with  a  rapidity  that  is  per- 
fectly amazing,  to  the  length  of  six  or  seven  inches,  and  a  fly 
glued  to  its  extremity  is  brought  into  the  creature's  mouth  so 
quickly,  that  the  eye  can  scarcely  follow  the  movement. 

Besides  the  possession  of  this  unique  tongue,  the  chameleon  is 
very  much  assisted  in  its  chase  after  insects  by  its  singular  faculty 
of  voluntarily  changing  colour,  which  enables  it  to  conceal  itself 
by  adopting  that  of  the  branches  around,  and  by  the  peculiar 
structure  of  its  enormously  projecting  eyes.  Although  the 
movements  of  its  head  are  very  limited  on  account  of  the 

T   2 


276  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

shortness  of  its  stiff  neck,  this  deficiency  is  amply  compensated 
by  the  wide  range  of  its  vision,  each  eye  being  able  to  move 
about  in  all  directions  independently  of  the  other.  Thus,  while 
one  of  them  gazes  upon  the  heavens,  the  other  minutely  ex- 
amines the  ground  ;  or  while  one  of  them  rolls  in  its  orbit, 
the  other  remains  fixed :  nay,  their  mobility  is  so  great,  that 
without  even  moving  his  stiff  head,  this  wonderful  saurian,  like 
Janus,  the  double-faced  god  of  ancient  Rome,  can  see  at  the 
same  time  all  that  goes  on  before  and  behind  him.  This 
mutual  independence  of  the  eyes  is  owing  to  the  imperfect 
sympathy  which  subsists  between  the  two  lobes  of  the  brain  and 
the  two  sets  of  nerves  which  ramify  throughout  the  opposite  sides 
of  its  frame.  Hence,  also,  one  side  of  the  body  may  be  asleep 
while  the  other  is  vigilant — one  may  be  green  while  the  other 
is  ash-blue ;  and  it  is  even  said  that  the  chameleon  is  utterly 
unable  to  swim,  because  the  muscles  of  both  sides  are  inca- 
pable of  acting  in  concert.  Thus,  whatever  to  the  ignorant  eye 
seems  strange  or  grotesque  in  the  organisation  of  the  chameleon, 
is  in  reality  most  admirably  adapted  to  its  wants. 

In  the  crocodile  the  structure  of  the  tongue  is  no  less  remark- 
able than  in  the  chameleon,  though  of  a  very  different  character ; 
as,  far  from  being  extensile,  it  has  not  even  a  moveable  extremity, 
but  is  attached  by  its  whole  circumference  to  the  under-jaw. 
At  the  posterior  part  of  the  organ  a  broad  fold  of  the  skin  can 
be  applied  against  a  corresponding  fold  of  the  palatal  membrane 
that  descends  from  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  so  that  the  two  when 
approximated  form  a  valve  that  completely  closes  the  commu- 
nication between  the  mouth  and  the  posterior  fauces.  By  this 
curious  and  provident  arrangement,  the  crocodile  is  enabled  to 
keep  its  mouth  open  under  water,  without  danger  of  suffocation 
from  that  fluid  getting  into  its  windpipe ;  whilst  by  means  of  its 
long  tubular  nostrils,  which  open  at  the  very  apex  of  its  snout 
and  are  continued  backwards  to  behind  the  valvular  apparatus 
above  described,  it  is  enabled  to  breathe  with  facility  whilst 
only  the  tip  of  its  nose  is  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 

As  the  crocodile  preys  chiefly  on  fish,  it  is  admirably  organised 
for  swimming,  by  means  of  its  long  oarlike  tail,  and  its  short 
strong  webfpoted  legs;  while  the  length  of  the  body,  which  mate- 
rially assists  its  progression  in  the  water,  renders  it  unwieldy  on 
land.  Thus  this  large  and  ferocious  monster,  which  when  full- 


THE  SERPENT'S  POISON -TEETH. 


277 


grown  is  more  than  a  match  for  any  of  its  enemies,  is  prevented 
by  the  wise  ordinance  of  Providence  from  becoming  as  formidable 
on  land  as  in  the  water ;  for  when  on  shore  the  difficulty  it  has 
in  turning,  or  of  advancing  otherwise  than  directly  forward, 
enables  men  and  animals  readily  to  escape  from  it. 

The  colossal  pythons  and  boas  require  no  other  means 
for  overpowering  the  assaults  of  their  enemies  or  the  resistance 
of  their  prey  than  their  prodigious  muscular  strength,  for 
even  the  tiger  and  the  jaguar  are  unable  to  resist  their  murde- 
rous embrace.  They  climb  trees  with  great  facility,  the  scuta  of 
various  segments  through  their  enormous  length  laying  hold 
of  the  bark,  and  aided  by  the  great  flexibility  of  their  vertebral 
column,  they  are  enabled  to  ascend  in  opposition  to  the  force 
of  gravity. 

They  select  trees  in  the  vicinity  of  streams  and  rivers,  and 
suspending  themselves  from  the  branches  in  an  inverted  posi- 
tion by  means  of  their  prehensile  tail,  seize  and  crush  quadru- 
peds even  of  great  size  as  they  approach  to  drink. 

The  active  colubridse,  all  of  which  are  perfectly  innoxious, 
dart  suddenly  upon  the  insects,  lizards,  or  mice,  for  whom  they 
lie  in  wait  among  the 
bushes  or  in  heaps  of  rub- 
bish, or  escape  from  their 
enemies  with  wonderful 
velocity;  while  the  venom- 
ous snakes,  which  are  gene- 
rally slow  and  indolent  in 
their  motions,  and  would 
thus  become  an  easy  prey 
to  their  enemies,  have 
been  endowed,  as  a  com- 
pensation for  their  slug- 
gishness, with  so  formidable  a  weapon  as  to  make  even  the 
boldest  opponent  quail  at  their  sight — for  the  slightest  scratch 
of  one  of  their  fangs  is  certain  death.  A  small  canal  runs 
through  the  centre  of  a  great  part  of  these"  needle-like  teeth, 
and  opening  in  a  groove  near  the  apex,  terminates  on  the 
anterior  surface  in  an  elongated  fissure.  Towards  the  basis 
of  the  tooth  a  similar  slight  groove  or  longitudinal  indenta- 
tion communicates  with  the  duct  of  the  poison-gland.  This  is 


Structure  of  the  Poison-teeth 

of  the  Serpent. 

a  longitudinal  section  of  poison-fang,  I  shows  a 
hair  inserted  into  the  poison-canal,  c  transverse 
section  of  fang,  x  pulp  -cavity,  y  poison-canal. 


278  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

surrounded  by  a  double  aponeurotic  capsule,  of  which  the  outer- 
most and  strongest  layer  is  in  connexion  with  a  muscle,  by 
whose  contraction  the  gland  is  compressed  and  emptied  of  its 
secretion,  which  is  thus  conveyed  by  the  duct  to  the  basal 
aperture  of  the  poison-canal  of  the  fang.  We  may  suppose  that 
as  the  analogous  salivary  glands  in  other  animals  are  most 
active  under  particular  emotions,  the  rage  or  hunger  which 
stimulates  the  venom-snake  to  use  its  deadly  weapon  must 
be  accompanied  with  an  increased  secretion  and  great  disten- 
sion of  the  poison-glands ;  and,  as  the  action  of  the  compress- 
ing muscles  is  contemporaneous  with  the  blow  by  which  the 
serpent  inflicts  its  wound,  the  poison  is  at  the  same  moment 
injected  with  force  into  the  wound  by  the  apicial  outlet  of  the 
perforated  fang. 

Strange  to  say,  this  deadly  liquid  has  no  acrid  or  burning 
taste  or  smell  to  announce  its  fatal  properties  ;  the  tongue  would 
pronounce  it  in  offensive,  and  it  can  even  be  swallowed  with  im- 
punity ;  yet  the  smallest  quantity  introduced  into  an  open  wound 
suffices  to  dissolve  the  blood,  and  to  paralyse  the  stream  of 
life  with  an  almost  incredible  rapidity.  No  chemist  has  yet 
been  able  to  solve  the  enigma  of  its  action,  to  explain  the  reason 
of  its  deadly  effects  ! 

Had  the  poison-fangs  been  immoveably  fixed  they  would 
have  been  great  hindrances  to  the  act  of  swallowing,  but  this 
inconvenience  has  been  obviated  by  the  great  mobility  of  the 
superior  maxillary  bone  to  which  they  are  attached,  so  that  they 
can  voluntarily  either  be  concealed  in  the  gum  with  their  point 
turned  backwards,  or  pushed  forwards  and  erected. 

Lancets  of  needle-like  dimensions  must  necessarily  be  fragile, 
but  here  also  precautions  have  been  taken  against  an  irreparable 
loss,  as  an  aftergrowth  of  supplementary  fangs  is  constantly  in 
readiness  to  replace  them  when  broken.  Thus  even  the  terrible 
poison  apparatus  of  the  viper  is  full  of  wonders,  and  equally 
worthy  of  admiration  and  of  fear. 

In  spite  of  their  proverbial  'wisdom'  and  the  frequent  pos- 
session of  a  weapon  of  such  annihilating  power,  the  serpents, 
among  whose  two  hundred  and  sixty- three  known  species 
fifty-seven  are  venomous,  would  never  have  been  able  to  main- 
tain their  existence  had  they  not  possessed  the  faculty  of 
swallowing  at  one  meal  enormous  masses  of  animal  food. 


THE   DEIRODON.  279 

For  although  generally  agile  in  their  movements,  the  deer, 
rodents,  lizards,  or  insects  on  which  they  feed,  according  to 
their  size,  are  frequently  still  more  active,  and  thus  they  are 
obliged  to  lie  in  wait  and  seize  the  favourable  opportunity 
for  darting  unawares  upon  their  prey.  This  is  frequently  of  a 
more  considerable  volume  than  the  body  of  its  captor,  and  as 
their  small  teeth  are  incapable  of  diminishing  or  masticating 
their  food,  they  would  have  been  condemned  to  perish  in  the 
midst  of  abundance  had  not  their  mouth  been  capable  of  enor- 
mous distension.  For  this  purpose  the  two  sides  of  the  lower 
jaw  do  not  coalesce  like  ours  into  one  solid  mass,  but  are  only 
loosely  connected  with  each  other,  thus  allowing  each  part  to 
be  moved  separately.  The  bones  of  the  upper  jaw  and  palate  are 
also  loosely  attached  or  articulated  one  with  the  other  by  liga- 
ments, so  as  to  allow  the  aperture  of  the  mouth  to  be  considerably 
widened. 

By  this  mechanism,  aided  by  the  numerous  sharp  teeth  which 
are  generally  fixed  both  in  the  jaws  and  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth, 
and,  having  their  points  curved  backwards,  serve  as  so  many 
little  hooks  for  seizing  and  holding  their  prey,  each  side  of  the 
jaws  and  mouth,  being  able  to  act  as  it  were  independently  of 
the  other,  alternately  hooks  itself  fast  to  the  morsel  or  advances 
to  fasten  itself  farther  on  in  a  similar  manner ;  and  thus  the 
reptile  draws  itself  over  its  prey,  somewhat  in  the  same  way  as 
we  draw  a  stocking  over  our  leg,  after  having  first,  by  breaking 
the  bones,  fashioned  it  into  a  convenient  mass  and  rendered  its 
passage  more  easy  by  lubricating  it  with  its  saliva.  Slowly  the 
huge  lump  disappears  behind  the  widening  jaws,  descends  lower 
and  lower  beneath  the  scales,  which  seem  ready  to  burst  asunder 
with  distension,  and  then  the  satisfied  monster  coils  himself  up 
once  more  to  digest  his  meal  in  quiet.  The  time  required  for 
this  purpose  varies  of  course  according  to  the  size  of  the  morsel ; 
but  often  weeks  or  even  months  will  pass  before  a  python  rouses 
himself  from  the  lethargic  repose  in  which  he  lies  plunged 
after  a  superabundant  meal. 

While  the  venomous  snakes  are  armed  with  formidable  fangs, 
and  most  other  serpents  are  well  furnished  with  teeth,  those  of 
the  genus  Deirodon  are  so  small  as  to  be  scarcely  perceptible.  An 
acquaintance  with  the  habits  and  food  of  this  species  has  shown 
how  admirably  the  apparent  defect  is  adapted  to  its  wellbeing. 


280  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

Its  business  is  to  restrain  the  undue  increase  of  the  smaller  birds 
by  devouring  their  eggs.  Now,  if  the  teeth  had  existed  of  the 
ordinary  form  and  proportion  in  the  jaws  and  palate,  the  egg 
would  have  been  broken  as  soon  as  it  was  seized,  and  much  of 
its  nutritious  contents  would  have  escaped  from  the  lipless 
mouth  of  the  snake  in  the  act  of  deglutition ;  but  owing  to  the 
almost  edentulous  state  of  the  jaws,  the  egg  glides  along  the 
expanded  opening  unbroken ;  and  it  is  not  until  it  has  reached 
the  gullet,  and  the  closed  mouth  prevents  any  escape  of  the 
nutritious  matter,  that  the  shell  is  exposed  to  instruments 
adapted  for  its  perforation.  These  instruments  consist  of  pro- 
cesses growing  out  of  the  last  cervical  vertebrae,  the  extremities 
of  which  are  capped  by  a  layer  of  hard  cement,  and  penetrate 
into  the  interior  of  the  oesophagus.  The  shell  being  sawed  open 
longitudinally  by  these  vertebral  teeth,  the  egg  is  crushed  by  the 
contractions  of  the  gullet  and  is  carried  to  the  stomach,  where 
the  shell  is  no  doubt  soon  dissolved  by  the  acid  gastric  juice. 

The  intellectual  powers  of  the  reptiles  are  confined  to  very 
narrow  limits,  yet  these  lowminded  animals  possess  many  of  the 
passions  and  instincts  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  observe 
among  the  fishes.  The  same  imperative  impulse  which  forces 
the  salmon  to  quit  the  salt -waters  of  the  ocean  and  ascend  the 
rivers,  compels  also  the  turtles  at  the  beginning  of  the  dry  season 
to  seek  the  sandy  shores  of  desert  islands  or  solitary  bays,  or 
directs  the  marsh  and  river-tortoises  to  the  warm  flat  islands 
which  dot  the  surface  or  crowd  about  the  estuaries  of  the  colossal 
tropical  streams.  There  they  select  a  place  in  which  their  eggs 
can  be  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  dig  holes  before 
depositing  them  for  their  protection.  As  soon  as  they  burst 
their  shell,  the  young  immediately  crawl  towards  the  water, 
in  obedience  to  the  instinct  which  tells  them  that  this  is  their 
proper  element,  and  that  the  dry  sands,  after  having  once  done 
their  office  in  bringing  them  to  life,  can  afford  them  neither 
security  nor  food. 

The  lacertine  and  ophidian  tribes  also  select  proper  places  for 
their  eggs,  either  in  the  warm  sand  or  in  heaps  of  fermenting 
substances.  Thus  several  of  the  American  alligators,  after  having 
scraped  together  a  little  mound  on  the  banks  of  rivers,  hollow  it 
out  in  the  middle  and  fill  up  the  rest  with  vegetable  matter,  as 
if  a  professor  of  chemistry  had  taught  them  that  the  process  of 


AFFECTIONS    OF    REPTILES.  281 

putrefaction  engenders  heat.  One  species  of  salamander  com- 
mits a  single  egg  to  a  leaf  of  persicaria,  protects  it  by  carefully 
doubling  the  leaf,  and  then  proceeding  to  another,  repeats  this 
manoeuvre  till  her  whole  stock  is  provided  for. 

Nor  are  the  reptiles  so  totally  devoid  of  all  sentiments  of  affec- 
tion as  is  commonly  supposed.  The  Singhalese  remark  that  if  one 
cobra  be  destroyed  near  a  house,  its  companion  is  almost  Certain 
to  be  discovered  immediately  after ;  and  Pliny  notices  the  affec- 
tion that  subsists  between  the  male  and  the  female  asp,  and  that 
if  one  of  them  happen  to  be  killed,  the  other  seeks  to  avenge  its 
death.  The  she-alligator  watches  over  the  safety  of  her  young 
for  a  long  time  after  their  birth,  and  endeavours  to  protect  them 
from  her  voracious  mate,  who  it  must  be  confessed  has  but  little 
of  a  father's  tenderness ;  and  the  male  iguana  is  strongly  attached 
to  the  female,  whom  he  will  defend  with  the  most  obstinate  fury. 
Even  the  ill-famed  crocodile  appears  to  be  better  than  its  repu- 
tation— instances  having  been  quoted  of  its  becoming  tame  and 
in  some  degree  gentle  to  its  keeper. 

Of  the  memory  of  lizards  we  find  a  curious  instance  in  Sir 
E.  Tennent's  ( Sketches  of  the  Natural  History  of  Ceylon.'  In 
the  officers'  quarters  in  the  Fort  of  Colombo,  a  gecko  had  been 
taught  to  come  daily  to  the  dinner-table,  and  always  made  its 
appearance  along  with  the  dessert.  The  family  were  absent  for 
some  months,  during  which  the  house  underwent  extensive  re- 
pairs, the  roof  having  been  raised,  the  walls  stuccoed,  and  the 
ceilings  whitened.  It  was  naturally  surmised  that  so  long  a 
suspension  of  its  accustomed  habits  would  have  led  to  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  little  lizard;  but  on  the  return  of  its  old 
friends,  it  made  its  entrance  as  usual  at  their  first  dinner  the 
instant  the  cloth  was  removed. 

Although  frogs  are  found  both  at  the  mouths  of  the  Mac- 
kenzie and  at  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  lizards  dwell  both 
in  Scotland  and  Kamtschatka,  yet  the  reptiles  are  chiefly 
confined  to  the  tropics,  as  from  their  cold  blood  they  are  in- 
capable of  supporting  a  low  temperature. 

Were  they  possessed  of  wings,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  our 
northern  snakes,  lizards,  frogs,  and  toads  would  fly  to  a  warmer 
climate  as  soon  as  the  first  cold  nights  of  autumn  cover  the 
meadows  with  a  silvery  sheet  of  hoarfrost ;  but  though  deprived 
<>f  wings,  these  animals  are  taught  by  an  admirable  instinct  to 


282  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

brave  the  winter  in  their  own  domain,  and  to  seek  a  refuge  either 
underground,  or  under  stones  or  timber,  or  under  the  bark  of 
trees — where,  sheltered  from  the  cold,  they  sink  into  a  deep 
lethargic  sleep,  which  lasts  until  the  first  warm  days  of  spring 
enable  them  to  resume -an  active  life. 

The  slow  or  blind  worm  (Anguis  fragilis),  as  it  is  falsely 
called,  its  small  brilliant  eyes  being  capable  of  seeing  very  dis- 
tinctly, burrows  itself  a  complete  winter  residence,  consisting  of 
a  tunnel  from  about  thirty  to  thirty-six  inches  in  length,  the 
mouth  of  which  it  plugs  up  with  grass  and  earth.  Close  to  the 
entrance  lie  the  young,  farther  on  the  more  full-grown  snakes, 
and  finally  in  a  small  recess  an  old.  male  and  female — the 
patriarchs  of  the  community,  which  frequently  consists  of  twenty 
or  thirty  individuals,  all  in  a  deep  trance — partly  twisted  to- 
gether, partly  stretched  out  at  full  length. 

In  the  equatorial  regions  the  extreme  aridity  of  the  dry  season 
is  as  hostile  to  animal  life  as  the  extreme  cold  of  the  north. 
Thus  many  reptiles,  unable  to  procure  their  ordinary  food  from 
the  drying-up  of  the  watercourses,  must  necessarily  have  perished, 
had  not  an  admirable  instinct  prompted  and  their  organisation 
allowed  them  to  bury  themselves  in  the  mud,  and  remain  in  a 
state  of  torpor  till  released  by  the  recurrence  of  rain. 

Sir  Emerson  Tennent,  whilst  riding  across  the  parched  bed 
of  a  tank,  was  shown  the  recess  still  bearing  the  form  and  im- 
press of  a  crocodile,  out  of  which  the  animal  had  been  seen  to 
emerge  the  day  before.  A  story  was  also  related  to  him  of  an 
officer  who,  having  pitched  his  tent  in  a  similar  position,  was 
disturbed  during  the  night  by  feeling  a  movement  of  the  earth 
below  his  bed,  from  which  on  the  following  day  a  crocodile 
emerged,  making  its  appearance  from  beneath  the  matting. 

After  the  first  rains  have  moistened  the  arid  llanos,  the 
parched  clay  of  the  dried-up  morass  is  sometimes  seen  to  rise  a,s 
if  upheaved  by  subterranean  power.  The  Indian,  fully  aware 
of  the  cause,  takes  to  flight,  for  a  gigantic  water-boa  or  a  huge 
crocodile  is  slowly  arising  from  the  tomb  in.  which  it,  had  volun- 
tarily embedded  itself. 

Man  generally  avoids  the  reptiles,  which  are  equally  solicitous 
to  fly  from  his  presence;  and  yet  they  are  far  more  useful  than 
noxious.  They  devour  an  immense  quantity  of  mice,  insects, 
worms  and  snails,  and  in  many  countries  their  services  as  de- 


USES    OF    KEPTILES.  283 

.stroyers  of  vermin  are  duly  appreciated.  In  South  Spain  and 
Africa  the  chameleon  is  kept  in  the  rooms  to  catch  flies,  and  in 
hothouses  lizards  and  even  toads  are  frequently  made  use  of  to 
cleanse  the  premises  of  vermin.  In  the  torrid  zone  snakes  are 
sometimes  domesticated  for  a  similar  purpose.  Thus  the  rat- 
snake  of  Ceylon  (Coryphodon  blumenbachi)  is  often  kept  as  a 
household  pet  by  the  natives ;  and  what  is  still  more  remarkable, 
even  the  dreaded  cobras  are  domesticated  in  the  place  of  dogs. 
They  glide  about  the  house,  going  in  and  out  at  pleasure,  a 
terror  to  thieves,  but  never  attempting  to  harm  the  inmates. 

Several  of  the  reptiles  afford  an  equally  agreeable  and 
healthy  food.  The  flesh  of  the  turtle  needs  no  special  encomium  ; 
one  single  specimen  of  the  elephantine  tortoise  of  the  Gralapagos 
will  provide  a  ship's  company  with  a  supply  of  fresh  meat  for 
several  weeks  ;  and  the  common  or  Greek  tortoise,  which  also 
renders  good  services  in  gardens  by  the  destruction  of  insects, 
is  frequently  brought  upon  the  provision  market  in  the  coast 
towns  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  white  flesh  of  the  iguana  is  one  of  the  great  delicacies 
of  the  West  Indies,  and  on  the  Continent  frogs'  legs  are  the 
epicure's  delight.  But  it  is  not  merely  as  food  that  the  reptiles 
are  valuable  to  man  :  tortoise-shell — which  ought  rather  to  be 
called  turtle-shell,  as  it  is  furnished  by  a  denizen  of  the  ocean 
(Hawksbill-turtle)— is  one  of  the  most  elegant  articles  for  various 
ornamental  purposes,  and  the  tough  skin  of  the  crocodiles  and 
alligators  make  excellent  sandals  and  saddles. 

On  comparing  with  all  these  services  the  injuries  which  the 
reptiles  inflict  upon  man,  it  will  be  found  that  the  balance 
inclines  very  much  in  favour  of  the  former.  It  is  but  seldom 
that  he  falls  a  prey  to  crocodiles  and  alligators,  or  that  the  boa 
crushes  him  to  death,  or  that  the  poison-fang  of  the  rattlesnake 
dooms  him  to  almost  instantaneous  destruction.  No  venomous 
snake  will  ever  attack  him  unprovoked  ;  the  boas  and  pythons, 
far  from  seeking  the  opportunity  of  assailing  him,  are  glad  to 
escape  his  notice ;  and  the  crocodiles  are  so  awkward  on  land 
that  they  are  but  little  inclined  to  seek  their  prey  out  of  the 
water.. 

Both  the  noxious  and  the  far  more  numerous  harmless  reptiles 
are  kept  in  check  by  a  host  of  enemies.  The  storks,  herons, 
and  buzzards  are  constantly  thinning  their  ranks ;  the  ostrich 


284 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


is  a  determined  serpent-hunter ;  and  the  secretary-bird  is  so 
renowned  for  his  exploits  as  a  snake-killer  that  he  has  been 
introduced  into  the  West  Indies  for  the  purpose  of  exterminating 
the  terrible  trigonocephalus,  which,  before  he  came  to  the  rescue, 
rendered  working  in  the  sugar-plantations  so  dangerous  to  the 
negroes. 

In  their  combats  with  the  snakes  the  birds  evince  an  admir- 
able instinct.  Thus  the  buzzard  is  fully  aware  of  the  dangerous 
bite  of  the  adder,  even  when  he  has  been  caught  quite  young, 
and  has  never  before  seen  one  of  these  terrible  reptiles.  He 
aims  at  once  at  the  head,  and  only  begins  to  feast  upon  the  body 
after  having  previously  crushed  it.  Harmless  serpents,  on  the 


Mongoos   (Herpestes  Vilticollis). 

contrary,  he  will  hold  a  long  time  in  his  talons,  enjoying  their 
vain  endeavours  to  escape  or  to  molest  their  persecutor,  and 
then  bite  them  indiscriminately  either  in  the  tail  or  in  the  head. 
Who  taught  him  this  lesson  ? — who  enabled  him  to  distinguish 
between  creatures  apparently  so  similar? — who  informed  him 
that  here  only  an  impotent  rage  exhausts  itself  in  ineffectual 
efforts,  while  there  a  deadly  poison  is  to  be  avoided  ? 

In  the  backwoods  of  America  the  rattlesnake  everywhere  dis- 
appears before  the  advance  of  man,  as  the  hog,  the  squatter's 
invariable  companion,,  is  its  most  formidable  enemy,  whom  it 
dreads  so  much  that,  on  seeing  one,  it  immediately  loses  all  its 


ENEMIES    OF   REPTILES.  285 

courage,  and  instantly  takes  to  flight.  But  the  hog,  who  smells 
it  from  afar,  draws  nearer  and  nearer,  his  bristles  erect  with 
excitement,  seizes  it  by  the  neck,  and  devours  it  with  great  com- 
placency, though  without  touching  the  head. 

On  account  of  his  activity  in  destroying  crocodile-eggs  and 
snakes  the  ichneumon  was  ranked  by  the  ancient  Egyptians 
among  their  numerous  divinities.  The  Indian  mongoos  also 
attacks  without  hesitation  the  most  venomous  serpents.  The 
cobra,  which  puts  even  the  leopard  to  flight,  rises  before  the 
little  creature  with  swelling  hood  and  fury  in  its  eye ;  but, 
swift  as  thought,  the  mongoos,  avoiding  the  death-stroke  of  the 
projecting  fangs,  leaps  upon  its  back,  and,  fastening  his  sharp 
teeth  in  the  head,  soon  despatches  the  helpless  snake. 

Even  in  their  own  ranks  the  reptiles  have  many  enemies, 
who  take  care  to  keep  their  numbers  in  check,  and  prevent 
them  from  acquiring  a  dangerous  ascendancy  over  the  other 
animals.  Thus  the  Trionyx  ferox,  a  river-tortoise  of  South  Caro- 
lina, lies  in  wait  among  the  rushes  for  the  young  alligators  ;  and 
one  serpent  frequently  devours  the  other. 

Against  these  manifold  attacks  the  reptile  race  maintains 
itself,  not  only  by  the  various  defences  I  have  mentioned,  but  by 
a  great  fecundity.  Frogs  and  toads  often  lay  above  twelve 
hundred  eggs  — tortoises  and  turtles  above  four  hundred,  during 
the  course  of  the  dry  season — crocodiles  and  snakes  from  fifty  to 
sixty.  Thus  the  reptiles  not  only  supply  food  to  a  Vast  number 
of  animals,  but  keep  on  flourishing  from  generation  to  generation 
and  from  age  to  age. 


286  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BIRDS. 

Their  Wings  and  Eapidity  of  Flight — Quill-feathers  —  Wings  of  the  Ostrich  and 
the  Penguin — Feathers — Rump-gland— Legs  of  Birds— Waders — Swimmers — 
Raptorial  Birds — Perchers — Beaks  of  Birds— Black-skimmer— Boatbill — Spoon- 
bill— Crossbill — The  Flamingo's  and  the  Toucan's  Tongue — Digestive  Apparatus 
of  the  Birds — Strength  of  Vision — Services  of  Birds — Nests  of  Birds — The 
Sand-martin— The  Woodpecker— The  Chaffinch— The  Cassique— The  Balti- 
more Oriole — Weaver-birds — The  Baya — The  Social  Grossbeak — The  Tailor- 
bird — The  Tallegalla — The  Sea-lark — Heroism  of  Birds  in  defending  their 
Young — The  Lammergeier— Artifices  of  the  Lapwing  and  Ostrich — Memory  and 
Intelligence  of  Birds — Migratory  Instinct. 

WHEN  the  word  reptile  is  mentioned,  a  host  of  loathsome  forms 
rises  before  our  fancy.  The  slimy  toad  seems  to  distend  its 
repulsive  body,  the  wily  adder  hisses  and  menaces  us  with  its 
venomous  fangs,  the  boa  uncoils  its  enormous  folds  to  stifle  us 
in  its  embrace,  and  the  dreadful  crocodile  snaps  at  us  with  its 
formidable  jaws. 

ETow  different  the  picture  when  our  thoughts  turn  to  the 
Birds,  the  light-winged  denizens  of  the  air !  There  all  was 
dismal  and  dreary,  clothed  in  dull  melancholy  tints  such  as 
befit  the  putrid  swamp  or  the  pestilential  morass ;  here  all  is 
broad  daylight  and  cheerful  sunshine.  The  groves  resound  with 
harmonious  voices ;  the  brilliant  hummingbird  darts  from 
flower  to  flower ;  the  golden  pheasant  rears  his  beautiful  crest ; 
the  swan,  robed  in  his  spotless  garb,  draws  furrows  through  the 
crystal  lake ;  the  peacock,  in  the  full  consciousness  of  his 
beauty,  strides  proudly  over  the  lawn ;  and  high  above,  almost 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  vision,  the  eagle  sweeps  in  majestic 
circles  through  the  sky. 

Other  animals  likewise  quit  the  solid  earth,  or  the  waters  of 
the  sea,  to  seek  food,  or  refuge  from  their  enemies,  in  the  light 


WINGS    OF   BIRDS.  287 

regions  of  the  air ;  the  buzzing  bee  and  the  silent  butterfly 
hover  from  flower  to  flower ;  the  flying-fish,  darting  into  another 
element,  eludes  the  dolphin's  pursuit ;  and  the  bat,  expanding 
his  broad  wings,  wheels  like  a  demon  of  the  night  in  quest  of 
his  insect  prey.  But  the  low  flight  of  all  these  creatures  is  con- 
fined either  to  a  few  moments,  or  to  a  narrow  sphere ;  while 
the  feathered  races  roam  far  and  wide  through  the  vast  realms 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  defy  both  height  and  distance  with  their 
powerful  and  unwearied  wings. 

According  to  Humboldt,  the  condor  soars  to  an  elevation  of 
48,000  feet,  from  whence  he  would  be  able  to  overlook  the  whole 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  then  again  in  a  few  minutes 
darts  down  to  the  level  of  the  sea ;  the  albatross,  quietly  facing  the 
gale,  bids  defiance  to  the  fury  of  the 'unshackled  elements;  and 
the  frigate-bird,  though  frequently  met  with  at  the  distance  of 
four  hundred  leagues  from  land,  is  said  to  return  every  night 
to  his  solitary  roost.  To  perform  these  prodigious  flights,  these 
monarchs  of  the  air  have  been  gifted  with  an  enormous  spread 
of  wing.  Thus  the  pinions  of  the  albatross  extend  from  ten  to 
thirteen  feet,  and  those  of  the  condor  and  the  frigate-bird 
measure  even  still  more  from  end  to  end ;  but  even  among  the 
smaller  birds  we  find  many  that  divide  the  air  with  an  astonish- 
ing swiftness  and  length  of  flight.  The  carrier-pigeon  has 
been  known  to  travel  in  less  than  six  hours  from  London  to 
Liege  in  Belgium ;  the  fleetest  greyhound  would  be  unable  to 
overtake  the  swallow;  and  the  tiny  hummingbird,  although 
generally  averse  to  long  migrations,  darts  from  flower  to  flower 
with  such  lightning-like  velocity,  that  the  most  attentive  ob- 
server is  unable  to  distinguish  the  rapid  vibrations  of  its  wings. 

A  glimpse  at  the  organisation  of  the  birds  shows  us  how 
admirably  they  are  constructed  for  an  aerial  life.  As  their 
wings,  which  correspond  to  the  forefeet  of  the  quadrupeds  or 
to  the  arms  of  man,  are  in  most  cases  the  chief  organs  of  loco- 
motion, and  their  use  consequently  requires  the  greatest  concen- 
tration of  strength,  their  muscles  are  generally  far  more  powerful 
than  those  of  the  legs.  The  breastbone  is  also  enormously 
developed,  so  as  to  serve  as  a  fit  point  of  attachment  for  the 
muscular  masses  which  set  them  in  motion  ;  and  its  dimensions 
correspond  so  exactly  with  the  strength  of  the  wings,  that  on 
comparing  its  size  with  that  of  the  remaining  skeleton,  we  can 


28a  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 

at  once  judge  of  a  bird's  powers  of  flight.  Thus  in  the  ostrich 
and  cassowary,  whose  wings  are  incapable  of  raising  them  into 
the  air,  the  keel,  or  osseous  crest — which  in  most  birds  arises 
from  the  centre  of  the  breastbone,  and  serves  to  increase  the 
surface  of  muscular  attachment — is  absent,  while  it  projects 
enormously  in  the  diurnal  birds  of  prey,  in  the  swallows,  and  in 
the  hummingbirds. 

To  assist  the  action  of  the  wings,  they  are  provided  with  a 
crest  of  quill-feathers,  more  or  less  elongated,  and  decked  with 
6  coverts '  imbricating  over  each  other  like  the  tiles  of  a  roof. 
When  expanded,  these  feathers  press  like  a  light  fan  upon  the 
elastic  air-wave  beneath,  and  considerably  increase  the  surface 
of  the  bird  without  materially  adding  to  his  weight.  Not  only 
the  size,  but  also  the  form 'and  texture,  of  the  quill-feathers  has 
a  material  effect  on  the  powers  of  flight.  Thus  in  the  falcons, 
each  primary  quill-feather  is  elongated,  narrow,  and  gradually 
tapers  to  a  point ;  the  webs  are  entire,  and  the  barbs  closely  and 
firmly  connected  together.  In  the  owls,  the  plumage  is  loose 
and  soft,  and  the  outer  edge  of  the  primaries  is  serrated ;  so  that 
while  they  are  debarred  from  a  rapid  flight,  which  would  be 
dangerous  in  the  gloom  in  which  they  go  abroad,  they  are 
enabled  by  the  same  mechanism  to  wing  their  way  without 
noise,  and  steal  unheard  upon  their  prey.  In  the  ostrich,  the 
barbs  of  the  quill-feathers  have  so  little  adhesion  to  each  other, 
that  the  air  can  pass  readily  between  them,  and  thus  the  wings, 
even  by  their  most  energetic  action,  are  totally  incapable  of 
raising  the  bird  from  the  ground.  Their  flapping,  however, 
materially  assists  the  action  of  the  legs,  and  serves  to  increase 
the  speed  of  the  giant  bird  when,  flying  over  the  arid  plain,  he 
'  scorns  the  horse  and  his  rider.' 

The  penguin  is  totally  deprived  of  quill-feathers,  like  the 
cassowary  or  the  kiwi ;  but,  though  incapable  of  flight,  this  strange 
bird  makes  use  of  its  small  featherless  wing-stumps  as  excellent 
paddles  in  the  water,  and  on  land  as  forefeet,  with  whose  help 
it  scales  so  rapidly  the  grass-grown  cliffs,  as  to  be  easily  mis- 
taken for  a  quadruped.  Wherever  great  powers  of  flight  have 
been  given,  they  constantly  correspond  with  some  peculiar 
want.  The  food  of  the  oceanic  birds  is  to  be  sought  for  at  a 
great  distance  from  land ;  their  prey,  which  consists  entirely  of 
marine  animals,  is  constantly  shifting  its  quarters,  and  it  is 


FLIGHT    OF    BIRDS.  289 

therefore  necessary  that  their  pursuers  should  be  such  perfect 
flyers  as  to  be  constantly  on  the  wing,  either  following  or 
seeking  them.  They  also  require  a  prodigious  strength  of  wing 
either  to  brave  the  storm  or  to  soar  to  such  an  elevation  as  to 
rise  above  its  fury,  like  those  Alpine  travellers  who  from  the 
serene  height  of  a  giant  mountain  look  down  upon  the  thunder- 
clouds below.  Had  not  the  swallows  been  endowed  with  a 
lightning-like  rapidity,-  they  would  never  have  been  able  to 
catch  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  insects,  winged  like  themselves, 
on  which  they  feed;  and  the  tiny  hummingbird,  constantly 
hovering  from  flower  to  flower,  must  have  fallen  an  easy  prey 
to  every  more  powerful  carnivorous  bird,  if  he  had  not  been 
able  to  dart  along  with  the  swiftness  of  a  meteor.  Besides  the 
expansive  wings,  the  small  head,  the  pointed  beak,  the  long  and 
pliant  neck,  the  gently-swelling  shoulder,  the  tapering  tail 
(acting  like  the  rudder  of  a  ship,  and  enabling  the  bird  to 
rise  or  fall,  or  remain  in  a  horizontal  position),  are  all  wisely 
calculated  to  assist  and  accelerate  motion  through  the  yielding 
air. 

The  internal  structure  of  birds  is  no  less  beautifully  adapted 
to  the  same  purposes :  all  the  bones  are  thin,  and  frequently 
hollow ;  and  all  the  muscles,  except  those  which  are  appropriated 
to  the  purpose  of  moving  the  wings,  are  extremely  delicate 
and  light ;  the  lungs  are  placed  close  to  the  backbone  and  ribs ; 
the  air,  entering  into  them  by  a  communication  from  the  wind- 
pipe, passes  through  and  is  conveyed  into  a  number  of  membran- 
aceous  cells,  which  occupy  a  considerable  space  of  the  breast  and 
abdomen,  and  which  can  be  voluntarily  distended  with  air,  like  the 
bladder  which  enables  the  fishes  to  rise  in  their  native  element. 
The  feathers  with  which  the  birds  are  invested  are  so  appropriate 
to  their  mode  of  life,  that  anything  more  perfect  cannot  possibly 
be  imagined.  Not  only  are  they  peculiarly  fitted  by  their 
lightness  as  a  raiment  for  creatures  destined  to  hover  through 
the  air,  but  from  their  being  very  bad  conductors  of  heat  they 
afford  the  birds  the  best  protection  even  against  the  extremes  of 
cold.  Under  the  cover  of  its  dense  white  plumage,  the  snow- 
goose  braves  the  terrific  winters  of  the  North,  and  the  Antarctic 
petrel  endures  the  freezing  winds  of  its  inhospitable  seas. 

Even  under  the  equatorial  sun,  the  condor  soars  high  above 

u 


290  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

the  limits  of  perpetual  snow  :  like  the  lammergeier  of  the  Alps, 
he  roosts  on  pinnacles  where  even  in  summer  nights  the  ther- 
mometer sinks  many  degrees  below  the  freezing-point  of  water ; 
but  under  their  feathery  mantle,  these  birds  of  prey  feel  not 
the  cold.  Even  in  the  tropical  forests  the  temperature  of  the 
air  falls  considerably  after  sunset,  and  then  the  parrot  and  the 
toucan,  the  tangara  and  the  cotinga,  enjoy  the  benefit  of  a 
vesture  which  prevents  the  heat  of  their  bodies  from  radiating 
into  the  cold  atmosphere. 

To  brave  therigours  of  theNorth,theeider-ducks  are  furnished, 
under  their  external  cover  of  feathers,  with  a  soft  cushion  of 
down,  which  serves  them  also  to  line  their  nest,  and  in  many 
birds  a  lighter  summer  plumage  alternates  with  a  warmer  winter 
covering. 

As  but  few  birds  sleep  under  cover,  and  many  of  them  are 
exposed  to  every  weather,  they  necessarily  require  a  waterproof 
mantle.  For  this  purpose  they  have  been  provided  with  a  gland 
at  the  rump,  from  which  they  express  an  oily  matter,  which 
spread  over  the  plumage  renders  it  impermeable  to  the  wet. 
The  lubricating  of  their  feathers  with  this  unctuous  fluid  is  one 
of  the  chief  occupations  of  many  birds,  particularly  of  the  water- 
fowl, in  whom  the  gland  by  which  it  is  secreted  is,  as  might  be 
expected,  particularly  large,  while  it  is  totally  wanting  in  the 
ostrich,  who  in  his  arid  home  does  not  require  its  aid. 

Admirable  as  a  most  appropriate  vestment,  the  feathers  of 
birds  are  scarcely  less  so  from  the  splendour  of  their  hues  or  the 
elegance  of  their  arrangement.  What  an  astonishing  variety  of 
shape  and  colour !  The  plumage  of  the  colibri  rivals  the 
sapphire  and  the  ruby  in  brilliancy.  Which  robe  is  most 
pleasing  to  the  eye,  that  of  the  snow-white  swan,  or  that  of 
the  scarlet  macaw  ?  And  who  has  the  richest  raiment,  the 
bird  of  paradise  of  New  Guinea,  or  the  mandarin-duck  of 
the  Chinese  lakes  ?  Can  anything  surpass  the  beauty  of  the 
menura's  tail,  the  diadem  of  the  tody,  or  the  gorgeous  train 
of  the  peacock  ?  Among  such  a  host  of  competitors,  it  is  diffi- 
cult indeed  to  award  the  prize,  or  to  select  a  prime  favourite 
among  so  many  forms  of  beauty. 

An  examination  of  the  legs  of  birds  opens  new  wonders  to  our 
view,  for  here  also  we  see  masterpieces  of  adaptation  of  means 
to  end.  Thus  in  the  ostriches  and  cassowaries — who,  unable 


FOOT    OF    BIRDS. 


291 


Head  and  Leg  of  the  Ibis. 


to  fly,  would  otherwise  have  been  left  without  defence  against 
the  more  powerful  beasts  of  prey—  they  are  extremely  robust  and 
muscular,  so  as  to  enable  these  colossal  birds  to  scour  the  sandy 
plains  with  such  velocity,  that  their  feet  scarcely  appear  to  touch 
the  ground. 

In  the  waders,  who  are  also  most  excellent  runners,  they  are 
not  so  strongly  built,  but 
their  uncommon  length 
is  extremely  well-suited 
for  walking  on  swampy 
ground,  or  for  fording 
shallow  estuaries  and 
marshes.  A  greater  mus- 
cular strength  would  have 
been  superfluous,  as  the 
body  they  have  to  carry  is 
proportionably  small  and 
light,  and,  besides,  a  more 
robust  construction  could  only  have  been  obtained  by  a  greater 
weight,  which  would  have  been  a  serious  inconvenience  to  birds 
which  pass  so  great  a  part  of  their  lives  on  a  treacherous  and 
unstable  soil. 

Planted  in  the  centre  of  the  body,  they  are  thus  enabled  to 
carry  its  equally-distributed  weight  with  the  least  possible 
amount  of  exertion  ;  and  as  they  are  only  feathered  as  far  as  the 
middle  of  the  thigh,  they  are  the  better  enabled  to  wade  deep 
into  the  water,  particularly  as  their  straight  and  elongated  toes, 
which  are  also  frequently  lobed  or  webbed,  prevent  them  from 
sinking  too  deeply  into  the  mud. 

A  most  remarkable  example  of  the  provident  care  with  which 
the  formation  of  the  toes  of  the  waders  has  in  every  case  been  adap- 
ted to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  their  life,  is  afforded  us  by  the 
yacana,  in  which  they  are  distinguished  by  extraordinary  length, 
and  armed,  moreover,  with  equally  long  spinelike  claws,  espe- 
cially that  of  the  hinder  toe.  For  a  bird  destined  to  pace  the 
ground,  toes  such  as  these  would  have  beeD  as  inconvenient  as  the 
snow-shoes  of  a  Laplander ;  but  to  the  Tacana  they  are  extremely 
serviceable,  as  from  the  wide  surface  over  which  they  extend,  they 
enable  this  extremely  light  bird  to  pursue  its  food,  consisting  of 

u  2 


292 


THE   HAKMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


worms,  small  fishes,  and  insects,  by  walking  unsubmerged  on  the 
leaves  of  aquatic  plants  which  float  on  the  water.  In  the  Swimmers 
or  Palmipeds,  the  legs  are  as  beautifully  adapted  for  cleaving 
the  water,  as  in  the  Waders  for  marching  over  a  swampy  ground. 
The  toes  are  webbed  so  as  to  form  a  broad 
oarlike  surface,  and  the  short  and  muscular 
legs  are  placed  behind  the  point  of  equi- 
librium— a  peculiarity  which  occasions  an 
awkward  gait  on  land,  but  is  extremely  favour- 
able to  birds  '  whose  business  is  in  the  deep 
waters.' 

In  the  birds  of  prey  the  legs  are  likewise 
robust  and  short,  but  here  the  toes  are  armed 
with  long,  strong,  and  crooked  talons,  so  as  to 
be  able  to  tear  their  prey,  and  carry  it  easily 
to  the  lofty  situations  in  which  they  build 
their  nests.  For  this  reason  the  eagles 
have  been  endowed  with  comparatively  far  stronger  legs  and 
claws  than  the  owls^  whose  prey  consists  only  of  small  birds, 
mice,  or  even  insects,  and  who  are  not  obliged  to  carry  it 
to  high  rocks  and  mountain  pinnacles. 


Foot  of  the  Pelican. 


Talons  of  a  Bird  of  Prey. 


Foot  of  the  Woodpecker. 


In  the  scansorial  birds — the  woodpeckers  and  parrots — we 
find  the  feet  with  two  toes  before  and  two  behind ;  a  disposi- 
tion which,  though  it  proportionably  impedes  their  progress  on 
level  ground,  and  would,  for  instance,  have  been  highly  incon- 
venient to  the  ostrich,  gives  them  great  facility  in  climbing 
the  branches  of  trees,  or  ascending  perpendicular  stems. 


BEAK    OF   BIRDS.  2«J3 

The  strong  and  muscular  legs  of  the  gallinaceous  birds, 
with  three  toes  before,  furnished  with  short,  blunt,,  and  robust 
nails,  render  them  good  service  in  scratching  up  their  food, 
which  mostly  consists  of  grains  and  seeds; 
while  the  slender  and  short  feet  of  the  per- 
chers,  being  more  especially  adapted  to  the 
delicate  labours  of  nidification,  have  flexible 
and  moderately-elongated  toes,  with  long, 
pointed,  and  slightly-curved  claws.  FootofaPercher. 

The  beak  of  birds  shows  us,  in  its  various  forms,  the  same 
wisdom  of  plan  and  construction.  In  the  birds  of  prey  it 
is  strong,  curved,  sharp-edged,  and  sharp- 
pointed,  and  often  armed  with  a  lateral 
tooth ;  in  the  eagles,  however,  where  it  is 
destined  to  lacerate  a  living  prey,  and  has 
consequently  to  overcome  a  greater  resist- 
ance, it  is  more  powerful  than  in  the  carrion-feeding  vultures ; 
and  were  we  to  examine  all  the  species  of  the  raptores,  from 
the  smallest  falcon  to  the  imperial  eagle,  and  from  the  burrow- 
ing owl  to  the  highflying  condor,  we  should  find  that  in  every 
case  it  is  exactly  suited  in  strength  and  form  to  the  bird's  pecu- 
liar prey  or  food.  In  the  woodpeckers,  the  end  of  the  large  and 
strong  bill  is  sharp  and  formed  like  a  wedge,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
pierce  the  bark  of  trees,  and  penetrate  through  the  outside  sound 
wood  of  the  tree  to  the  inside  decayed  part,  where  the  food  is 
lodged ;  and  in  the  parrots,  we  find  the  upper  mandible  termi- 
nating in  a  strong  tooth,  and  curving  over  the  smaller  lower 
mandible,  equally  well  adapted  for  cracking  the  hardest  nuts. 

Those  sea-birds  which  live  upon  fishes  too  large  to  be  swal- 
lowed whole,  have  compressed  beaks,  with  sharp  edges,  and  a 
hooked  extremity  similar  to  that  of  the  birds  of  prey,  where, 
however,  it  is  comparatively  shorter  and  stronger ;  while  in  the 
storks  and  cranes,  which  feed  on  smaller  fishes  and  reptiles,  it  is 
generally  straight,  and  longer  than  the  head,  like  a  pair  of 
tongs — a  form  well  adapted  for  seizing  a  prey  that  seeks  con- 
cealment on  a  muddy  ground.  The  hardness  of  the  bill 
invariably  corresponds  with  the  resistance  to  be  overcome ; 
thus  in  the  larger  species  of  woodpeckers  it  acquires  the 
hardness  of  ivory,  while  it  changes  to  a  soft  skin  in  those 


294 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


Beak  of  the  Gmneafowl. 


Rostrum  of  a  Crow. 


which  feed  on  tender  substances,  or  which  have  occasion  to 
probe  for  their  food  in  muddy  or  sandy  soils —  such  as  ducks, 
snipes,  or  woodcocks. 

The  short  conical  and  vaulted  beak  of  the  Gallinaceous  birds 
serves  to  pick  up  with  due  rapidity  the 
vegetable  seeds  or  grains,  as  well  as  the 
worms  or  grubs  they  scratch  up  out  of  the 
ground;  while  the  bills  of  the  small  In- 
sessorial  or  Passerine  birds  present  every 
gradation  of  the  conical  form,  so  as  to  cor- 
respond with  their  various  habits.  The 
short  and  strong-billed  crows  and  finches  live  on  seeds  and 

grains;  the  beaks  of  the  shrikes 
and  flycatchers  are  more  or  less 
notched,  curved,  or  emarginated  at 
the  point,  so  as  to  be  able  to  dis- 
member the  small  birds,  mice,  or 
insects  on  which  they  feed ;  the 
hummingbirds  have  an  extremely  long  and  slender  bill,  with 

which  they  extract  ants,  flies,  or 
nectareous  juices  from  the  very  bot- 
tom of  the  long  tubular  corollas  so 
common  among  the  tropical  flowers  ; 
and  the  goat-suckers  and  swallows, 
who  are  in  the  habit  of  catching  and 
devouring  insects  on  the  wing,  have 
a  very  short  and  very  deeply-cleft 
beak,  which  enables  them  to  receive 
their  prey  in  full  flight  into  the 
cavity  of  their  mouth,  while  fre- 
quently a  viscous  exudation  within, 
and  a  strong  fence  of  vibrissse  on  the 
exterior,  assist  in  securing  the  victim. 
In  many  cases  the  bill  presents  a 
strange  anomaly  of  form,  as  if  Nature 
had  indulged  in  some  wild  vagaiy 
or  caprice ;  but  on  a  closer  inspection 
it  will  almost  invariably  be  found  that  these  deviations  from  the 
ordinary  types  are  of  great  use  to  their  possessors. 


Long-tailed  Hummingbird. 


BILL    OF    THE    PELICAN    AND    SKIMMER. 


295 


The  naked  elastic  pouch  (a),  depending  from  the  two  bony 
branches  of  the  lower  mandible  of  the  pelican's  bill,  enables 
the  bird  to  dispose  of  the  superfluous  quantity  which  may  be 
taken  during  fishing-excursions,  either  for  its  own  consumption 


Bill  of  ihe  Pelican. 


Bill  of  the  Skimmer. 


or  for  the  nourishment  of  its  young,  while  the  nail  or  very 
strong  hook  of  the  upper  mandible  is  of  great  assistance  in 
securing  its  slippery  prey. 

The  bill  of  the  black  skimmer  or  cutwater  is  quite  unique 
in  its  kind ;  the 
under  mandible, 
which  is  in  fact 
nothing  but  a 
wedge,  being  about 
an  inch  longer 
than  the  upper 
one,  by  which  it  is  clasped.  With  this  curious  apparatus  the 
bird,  while  on  wing,  skims  the  surface  of  the  sea  in  search 
of  small  fish,  shrimps,  or  young  fry,  whose  usual  haunts  are 
near  the  shore  and  towards  the  surface,  dipping  only  the  sharp 
under-mandible  into  the  water,  while  the  upper  mandible  is 
raised  above.  A  vast  expansion  of  wing  enables  it  to  sail  along 
with  sufficient  speed,  so  that  whoever  (says  Wilson)  has  observed 
the  facility  with  which  the  rynchops  procures  his  food,  cannot 
but  consider  it  a  mere  playful  amusement,  when  compared 
with  the  dashing  immersions  of  the  tern,  the  gull,  or  the  fish- 
hawk,  which  to  the  superficial  observer  appear  so  much  better 
equipped. 


296 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


Beak  of  the  Boatbill. 


Beak  of  the  Spoonbill. 


The  boatbill  owes  his  name  to  his  very  remarkable  beak, 
resembling  a  boat  with  its  keel  up- 
wards ;  the  mandibles  are  very  stout 
and  sharp-edged,  and  the  upper  one 
has  a  projecting  point  at  the  ex- 
tremity. This  strangely-formed  bill 
is  as  serviceable  to  its  possessor, 
in  seizing  the  fish  upon  which  he 

pounces  from  his  seat  on  the  branches  of  trees  by  the  side  of 
rivers,  as  is  the  long  and  flat  beak  of  the  spoonbill  in  fishing  for 

small  crustaceans  and  molluscs 
along  the  edges  of  the  water,  or 
in  the  mud  left  exposed  by  the 
ebbing  tide. 

The  bill  of  the  avoset,  which 
is  about  three  times  as  long  as  the  head,  turns  up  like  a  hook 
in  an  opposite  direction  to  that  of  the 
hawk  or  parrot,  and  is  flat,  thin,  sharp, 
and  flexible  like  whalebone.  An  instru- 
ment like  this  would  of  course  have  been 
very  unfit  for  cracking  nuts,  picking  up 
grain,  or  lacerating  a  larger  prey,  but 
it  answers  admirably  for  scooping 
smaller  marine  animals  out  of  the  sand 
or  from  among  the  pebbles  of  the  shore. 

The  toucans  and  hornbills  are  remarkable  for  the  enormous 
size  of  their  bill,  which  is  sometimes  equal  to  that  of  the  body 
itself,  and  might  seem  rather  adapted  to  birds  of  ostrich-like 
dimensions  than  to  volatiles  not  much  bigger  than  crows.  Were 
they  of  a  strong  and  solid  texture,  these  huge  beaks  would  in- 
fallibly weigh  them  to  the  ground  ;  but  being  of  extremely  light 
and  cellular  structure  the  birds  carry  them  easily,  and  leap 
with  such  agility  from  bough  to  bough,  that  they  do  not  then 
appear  preposterously  large. 

Of  all  beaks,  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  is  that  of  the 
crossbill,  in  which  the  extremities  of  the  mandibles  curve  towards 
opposite  sides,  and  cross  each  other  at  a  considerable  angle ; 
a  disposition  which,  at  first  sight,  seems  so  opposed  to  the 
natural  intention  of  a  bill,  that  even  Buffon  characterised  it 
as  an  error  and  defect  of  nature,  and  a  useless  deformity. 


Avoset   (.ttecuivirostra 
Avocetta). 


THE    CROSSBILL    AND    FLAMINGO. 


297 


Crossbill 

Curvnostra). 


But  a  more  accurate  observation  has  shown  that  this  appa- 
rently awkward  shape  is  in  fact  most  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  habits  of  the  bird. 
For  the  crossbills  live  mostly  on  the  seeds 
of  the  cones  of  the  fir,  in  procuring  which 
they  exhibit  wonderful  instinct,  as,  holding 
the  cone  in  their  claws,  they  bring  the  points 
of  their  beak  immediately  over  each  other, 
and  insinuate  them  between  the  scales,  when, 
forcing  them  laterally,  the  scales  open,  and 
then  again  bringing  the  points  in  contact, 
they  pick  out  the  seed  with  the  utmost  ease. 

Thus,  where  even  an  eminent  naturalist  ventured  to  find 
fault,  we  meet  with  a  most  beautiful  and  interesting  example 
of  Divine  foresight  and  wisdom,  which  may  well  teach  us  to  be 
humble  and  cautious  in  attempting  to  question  His  ways,  or 
to  pass  judgment  on  His  works. 

The  flamingo,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  aquatic 
birds  for  its  beauty,  and  the  great  length  of  its  neck  and  legs, 
is  also  possessed  of  a  most 
singularly-formed  beak, 
nearly  seven  inches  long, 
higher  than  broad,  and 
suddenly  curved  down- 
wards from  the  middle. 
This  extraordinary  shape 
corresponds  with  an 
equally  extraordinary 
mode  of  feeding,  for 
when  fishing  for  its  prey  in 
the  teeming  shallows,  the 
flamingo  twists  its  long  neck  in  such  a  manner  that  the  upper 
part  of  its  bill  is  applied  to  the  ground,  while  the  trampling 
feet  at  the  same  time  disturb  the  water,  so  as  to  raise  up  the 
worms,  molluscs,  or  crustaceans  which  form  the  bird's  repast. 

~".ie  structure  of  the  tongue  assists  in  an  admirable  manner 
tin.' action  of  the  bill  and  feet,  for  the  spines  with  which  its 
upper  surface  is  armed  are  arranged  in  an  irregular  and  alter- 
nate series,  and  act  with  the  notches  on  the  edge  of  the  upper 
mandible,  in  which  they  press  when  the  bird  feeds  with  the 


Bill  of  the  Flamingo. 


298  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE, 

head  reversed.  In  this  position  the  weight  and  size  of  the 
tongue  become  a  very  efficient  instrument  for  entrapping  the 
food.  The  bird  waddles  and  clatters  the  bill,  and  dabbles  about, 
and  the  tongue  receives  and  holds  as  a  strainer  whatever  the 
water  offers  of  food. 

In  many  of  the  insectivorous  birds  the  tongue  is  equally  well 
adapted  for  seizing  its  nimble  prey  before  it  has  time  to  secrete 
itself  in  some  impenetrable  citadel.  Thus  after  the  strong 
beak  of  the  woodpecker  has  dislodged  the  insects  from  their 
hiding-places,  they  are  immediately  transfixed  with  the  hard, 

horny,  and  sharp  point  of 
its  tongue  (a),  which  it  is 
capable  of  darting  forth 
with  amazing  rapidity,  and 
held  fast  by  the  sharp - 
pointed  processes  directed 
backwards,  which  arm  its 

Cranium  and  Tongue  of  a  Woodpecker. 

sides  and   thus  convert  it 

into  a  barbed  harpoon.  In  the  hummingbirds  it  is  divided  at 
its  extremity  into  a  pencil  of  fine  hairs,  well-fitted  for  imbibing 
the  nectar  and  farina  of  flowers;  while  in  the  toucan,  stiff 


Tongue  cf  the  Toucan. 

bristle-like  processes  project  forwards  from  its  sides,  and  the 
tongue  so  provided  becomes  an  instrument  for  testing  the  soft- 
ness and  ripeness  of  fruit,  and  the  fitness  of  other  objects  for 
food,  thereby  acting  as  a  kind  of  antenna  or  feeler. 

In  the  parrots  it  is  thick  and  fleshy,  serving  admirably  to  keep 
steady  the  nut  or  seed  upon  which  the  strength  of  the  mandibles 
is  exerted,  and  is  applied  to  the  kernel  so  extracted,  as  if  to 
ascertain  its  sapid  qualities. 

The  birds  are  unable  to  chew  or  masticate,  but  this  defect  is 
amply  supplied  by  the  peculiar  construction  of  their  digestive 
apparatus,  which  in  every  case  is  admirably  modified,  according 
to  the  nature  or  volume  of  the  food.  Thus  in  those  species 
which  devour  but  small  quantities  at  a  time,  and  without  any 
considerable  intermission,  or  where  the  aliments  are  of  easy 


DIGESTIVE    APPARATUS    OF    BIRDS 


299 


Digestive  Apparatus  of  the  ComtLon  ~Fo\ 


digestion,  the  gullet  presents  no  enlargement ;  while  in  the  eagles 
and  vultures,  which  gorge  themselves  at  uncertain  intervals 
from  bulky  carcasses,  it  undergoes  a  lateral  dilatation,  to  serve 
as  a  temporary  reservoir  or  macerating  apparatus. 

In  those  birds  whose  food  consists  of  grains  and  seeds  this 
enlargement  or  crop  is  still  further  developed,  and  assumes  the 
form  of  a  large-sized  single 
pouch  (6),  as  in  the  fowl, 
or  of  a  double  one,  as  in 
the  pigeon.  Here  the 
food  will  frequently  re- 
main for  sixteen  or  twenty 
hours,  until  it  becomes 
softened  with  the  abundant 
secretion  of  the  salivary 
glands ;  and  being  thus 
duly  prepared,  it  passes  on 
to  the  proventriculus  (c), 
the  first  or  glandular  divi- 
sion of  the  stomach,  where 
it  is  submitted  to  the  solvent  action  of  the  gastric  juice.  The 
proventriculus  varies  in  form  and  magnitude  in  different  birds, 
but  is  largest  in  those  which  have  no  crop,  as  if  to  compensate 
for  the  want  of  this  preparatory  macerating  cavity. 

The  third  and  last  act  of  the  digestive  process  is  performed 
in  the  gizzard  (e\  which 
in  the  birds  of  prey  as- 
sumes the  form  of  a  mere 
membranous  sack,  in 
accordance  with  the  ani- 
mal and  easily  digesti- 
ble nature  of  their  food  ; 
but  in  those  which  de- 
vour thick-coated  seeds 
or  other  hard  substances, 
it  is  of  so  dense  a  texture, 
that  its  horny  callous 
sides  (gg)  are  able  to 
grind  the  aliments  as 
between  two  millstones.  Gizzard  of  a  s\\  an. 


300  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

The  cavity  of  the  gizzard  being  necessarily  very  small,  a  crop 
is  as  essential  an  appendage  to  this  structure  as  the  e  hopper '  to 
the  mill ;  it  receives  the  food  as  it  is  swallowed,  and  supplies  it 
to  the  gizzard  in  small  successive  quantities  as  it  is  wanted. 
To  assist  the  triturating  power  of  the  gizzard,  the  birds  have 
been  taught  by  an  admirable  instinct  to  swallow  hard  foreign 
bodies,  such  as  sand,  gravel,  or  pebbles.  Fowls  grow  lean  if 
deprived  of  stones,  and  no  wonder,  since  experiment  shows 
that,  unless  the  grains  of  corn  are  bruised  and  deprived  of 
their  vitality,  the  gastric  juice  will  not  act  upon  or  dissolve 
them. 

Birds  necessarily  require  an  uncommon  strength  of  vision, 
both  for  discovering  their  prey  and  avoiding  their  enemies ; 
for  their  prey  is  frequently  small,  and  not  easily  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  surrounding  objects,  or  is  itself  engaged 
in  rapid  motion,  so  that  often  even  the  greatest  velocity  of 
flight  would  have  been  unavailing,  without  the  assistance  of  a 
piercing  eye.  A  bird  hovering  in  the  air  can  be  seen  from  a 
vast  distance  by  a  sharp-sighted  enemy,  and  thus  also  needs  a 
keen  vision,  to  be  able  to  escape  in  due  time  from  the  impend- 
ing danger. 

Besides  the  faculty  of  embracing  a  vast  field  of  vision  is  the 
essential  adjunct  of  considerable  powers  of  locomotion ;  for  it  is 
evident  that  short-sighted  and  at  the  same  time  swiftly-flying 
birds  must  soon  have  perished  from  this  want  of  harmony 
in  their  structure,  their  obtuse  vision  being  a  constant  im- 
pediment to  the  full  exercise  of  their  vigorous  wings. 

For  all  these  reasons  the  birds  have  been  gifted  with  a  sharp- 
ness of  vision  vastly  superior  to  that  of  the  quadrupeds.  A 
sparrow  will  detect  a  grain  of  corn  at  the  distance  of  eighty 
feet ;  a  hawk  soaring  in  the  air  distinguishes  a  lark  from  the 
similarly-coloured  ground  ten  times  farther  than  the  eye  of  man 
or  dog  can  reach ;  and  from  a  height  at  which  he  himself  is 
totally  lost  to  human  vision,  the  falcon  pounces  down  upon  the 
lizard  or  the  field-mouse  which  he  has  chosen  for  his  repast. 

Sweeping  in  majestic  circles  through  the  skies,  the  lammer- 
geier  embraces  at  a  glance  a  whole  world  of  Alpine  solitudes 
and  glaciers.  The  quadrupeds  which  inhabit  these  high  regions — 
the  goat  or  the  chamois — heedlessly  graze  the  mountain  herbage, 
unconscious  of  the  enemy  above;  but  suddenly,  with  folded 


USES   OF   BIRDS  301 

wings,  the  monarch  of  the  air  sweeps  down  upon  them  like  a 
meteor,  and,  even  before  they  can  think  of  flight,  bears  them 
aloft  in  his  talons. 

Scattered  in  countless  numbers  over  all  the  lands  and  seas, 
from  the  poles  to  the  equator,  the  birds  occupy  a  conspicuous 
rank  in  organic  creation.  They  may  well  be  called  the  guardian- 
angels  of  the  forest  and  the  field;  for  though  they  consume 
many  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  yet  the  damage  they  may  cause 
is  far  outweighed  by  their  services  in  clearing  tne  woods  and 
meads  of  hosts  of  insects,  which  but  for  them  would  gain  a 
fatal  preponderance  over  the  vegetable  world.  Thus  indirectly 
useful  to  man,  they  offer  him,  moreover,  the  tribute  of  their 
soft  feathers,  their  savoury  eggs,  their  nutritious  flesh,  or  their 
fertilising  guano ;  and  not  only  largely  add  to  his  wealth  or  to 
his  comfort,  but  contribute  also  to  his  spiritual  or  imma- 
terial enjoyments;  for  without  their  enlivening  presence  our 
groves  would  be  but  gloomy  solitudes,  and  even  the  loveliest 
landscape  would  lose  half  its  charms  in  the  absence  of  the 
feathered  songsters. 

The  birds  are  also  the  soul,  the  Life  of  stormy  coasts  and 
lonely  islands ;  they  animate  the  surf-beaten  rocks,  and  the 
boundless  wastes  of  the  high  seas.  Far  to  the  north,  or  in  the 
unfrequented  deserts  of  the  Antarctic  waters,  on  shores  where 
no  human  being  dwells,  their  cries  are  heard  mingling  in  wild 
but  not  inharmonious  concert  with  the  hoarse  rolling  of  the 
surge  and  the  moaning  wind ;  and  hundreds  of  miles  from  land 
the  mariner  hails  with  delight  the  high-soaring  frigate-bird,  or 
the  indefatigable  albatross,  winging  his  flight  or  hovering  with 
graceful  ease  over  the  agitated  ocean. 

Even  above  the  highest  mountain -tops,  where  vegetation  has 
long  ceased,  and  the  naked  rock  or  snowclad  pinnacle  alone 
occupies  the  dreary  scene,  man  still  finds  birds  to  cheer  his 
solitary  path ;  for  the  lammergeier  and  the  condor  sweep  in 
circles  thousands  of  feet  above  Chimborazo  or  Mont  Blanc, 
and  high  over  the  giant  peaks  of  Kintschingow  and  Kintschin- 
ginga,  flocks  of  wild  geese  are  seen  to  migrate  to  unknown  regions. 

Thus,  wherever  he  turns,  man  derives  either  profit  or 
pleasure  from  the  company  of  birds;  and  everywhere,  in  the 
woods  and  in  the  fields,  on  the  plains  and  on  the  mountains, 
on  the  coasts  and  on  the  high  seas,  he  welcomes  them  as  friends. 


302  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

Although  most  birds  are  able  to  seek  refuge  in  an  element 
where  none  but  those  of  their  own  class — their  most  dangerous 
enemies  with  the  exception  of  man — can  pursue  them,  yet  they 
are  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  many  terrestrial  animals.  The 
martens  and  weasels,  a  number  of  rodents,  the  smaller  felidse 
and  the  tree-snakes,  are  constantly  endeavouring  to  surprise 
them  in  their  retreats ;  and  even  still  more  ignoble  foes  im- 
peril their  safety,  for  the  brilliant  hummingbird  has  been  seen 
to  expire  under  the  jaws  of  the  hideous  trapdoor  spider. 
Thus  they  are  encompassed  with  dangers  on  all  sides,  both 
during  their  aerial  flight  and  when  they  seek  repose  on  land : 
but  they  are  chiefly  menaced  in  their  eggs  or  their  callow  young, 
who,  incapable  of  flight  and  self-defence,  have  nothing  but  the 
tenderness  and  the  foresight  of  their  parents  to  rely  upon.  But 
never  has  confidence  been  better  placed ;  for  Providence,  which 
in  every  case  proportions  the  means  of  resistance  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  peril,  and  nowhere  shows  its  power  more  evidently 
than  in  the  protection  of  the  weak,  has  inspired  the  birds  with  a 
more  than  common  share  of  affection  for  their  helpless  young, 
and  taught  them  to  build  those  wonderful  homes  without  hands, 
where  they  bring  up  their  dearest  treasures  with  such  touching 
self-denial,  and  in  case  of  need  defend  them  with  such  heroic 
courage. 

The  situations  where  the  birds  place  their  nests  are  as 
various  as  the  materials  of  which  they  compose  them,  or  the 
degrees  of  skill  they  evince  in  their  construction.  Many,  for 
better  protection  against  wind  and  weather,  fix  themselves  in 
the  deserted  burrows  of  quadrupeds,  or  dig  tunnels  on  their 
own  account.  Thus  the  gregarious  sand-  martin  perforates  steep 
gravelly  or  sandy  banks,  whose  hardness  frequently  seems 
quite  out  of  proportion  to  its  tiny  bill.  But  perseverance  will 
do  wonders ;  for  turning  round  and  round  upon  its  legs  as  upon 
a  pivot,  and  pecking  away  as  it  proceeds,  the  martin  soon  chips 
out  a  tolerably  circular  hole,  which  it  prolongs  to  a  depth  of 
two  or  three  feet  with  a  gentle  upward  slope,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  lodgment  of  rain. 

At  the  farthest  extremity  is  placed  the  nest — which,  as  an 
effectual  protection  has  been  already  obtained,  is  a  very  primi- 
tive structure,  hardly  better  than  a  mass  of  dry  herbage  and 
soft  feathers.  The  burrowing  puffin  takes  even  less  trouble 


THE    SAND-MARTIN  S    NEST. 


303 


than  this,  for  having  dug  its  hole,  .it  simply  lays  its  eggs  on  the 
earth  at  the  extremity ;  while  the  sheldrake,  more  regardful  of 
the  comfort  of  her  young,  lays  them  on  down  picked  from  her 
own  breast. 

Other  birds  establish  themselves  in  the  trunks  of  trees,  and, 


The  Sand -Mar tin. 


like  the  earth-burrowers,  either  form  their  tunnels  with  their 
own  beaks,  or  appropriate  to  their  use  the  excavations  made  by 
other  animals,  or  the  hollows  formed  by  natural  decay.  Among 
these  dendrobites,  the  woodpeckers,  who  by  means  of  their 
pickaxe- like  beak  scoop  out  deep  caves  in  decaying  trees,  or 
even  in  sound  wood,  hold  a  conspicuous  rank.  These  nests  are 
frequently  most  ingenious,  the  burrow  sloping  for  six  or  eight 
inches,  and  then  being  driven  perpendicularly  down  the  tree. 


304 


THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE 


The  bird  takes  care  to  make  the  sloping  tunnel  only  just  large 
enough  to  admit  the  passage  of  its  body,  so  as  to  render  its 
defence  more  easy,  but  the  perpendicular  hole  in  which  it 
resides  is  quite  large  and  roomy,  so  as  to  deserve  the  name  of  a 
chamber. 


The  Woodpecker's  Nest. 

Many  European  birds,  such  as  the  chaffinch  or  the  pensile 
warbler,  are  remarkable  for  the  neatness  or  ingenious  con- 
struction of  their  dwellings.  'The  nest  of  the  chaffinch,'  says 
the  late  venerable  sage  of  Walton  Hall,  '  is  a  paragon  of  per- 
fection. He  attaches  lichens  to  the  outside  of  it  by  means  of 
the  spider's  slender  web.  In  the  year  1805,  when  I  was  on  a 
plantation  in  Guiana,  I  saw  the  hummingbird  making  use  of 
the  spider's  web  in  its  nidification,  and  then  the  thought  struck 
me  that  our  chaffinch  might  probably  make  use  of  it  too.  On 
my  return  to  Europe,  I  watched  a  chaffinch  busy  at  its  nest ;  it 
left  it  and  flew  to  an  old  wall,  took  a  cobweb  from  it,  then  con- 
veyed it  to  its  nest,  and  interwove  it  with  the  lichen  on  the  out- 
side of  it.  The  pensile  warbler  shows  equal  architectural  skill ; 


.  PENSILE   NESTS   OP   THE   CASSIQUES.  305 

her  nest  is  formed  of  dry  blades  of  grass,  the  ribs  of  leaves,  and 
very  small  roots,  all  twined  together  in  the  most  ingenious 
manner  into  a  compact  ball,  and  suspended  to  a  netting  which 
she  has  previously  drawn  from  tree  to  tree,  so  that  this  curiously- 
constructed  mansion  rocks  to  and  fro  with  the  wind,  secure 
from  the  assaults  of  her  numerous  enemies.' 

But  however  skilful  our  native  workmen  may  be,  their  con- 
structions are  surpassed  by  those  of  many  of  their  relatives  ii 
the  torrid  zone,  where  a  more  energetic  development  of 
animal  life  naturally  renders  the  struggle  for  existence  more 
intense,  and  increases  the  danger  to  which  every  species  is  sub- 
ject. Thus  the  American  cassiques  suspend  their  large  pendulous 
nests,  which  often  exceed  a  yard  in  length,  at  the  extremities 
of  lofty  branches,  as  far  as  possible  from  all  enemies  that  might 
by  climbing  reach  the  brood ;  and  frequently  choose,  for  still 
further  protection,  trees  on  which  the  wasps  or  maribondas 
have  already  built  their  nests,  for  these  are  adversaries  whose 
sharp  stings  no  monkey  or  tiger-cat  would  desire  to  face. 

The  crested  cassique,  the  largest  of  the  family,  builds  his 
pensile  nest,  artificially  woven  of  lichens,  bark,  fibre,  and  the 
filaments  of  the  tillandsias,  on  the  tallest  trees  close  to  the 
habitation  of  man;  while  that  of  the  tupuba  (Cassicus  ruber), 
which  is  always  suspended  over  the  water,  consists  of  dry  grasses 
with  a  slanting  opening  in  the  side  so  that  no  rain  can  penetrate 
it.  On  passing  under  a  tree  which  often  bears  hundreds  of 
cassique  nests,  one  cannot  help  stopping  to  admire  them,  as 
they  wave  to  and  fro,  the  sport  of  every  breeze,  and  yet  so  well 
constructed  as  rarely  to  be  injured  by  the  severest  storm.  Often 
numbers  of  one  species  may  be  seen  weaving  their  nests  on  one 
side  of  a  tree,  while  numbers  of  another  species  are  busy  forming 
theirs  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  plant ;  and  what  is 
perhaps  even  still  more  wonderful  than  their  architectural  skill, 
though  such  near  neighbours,  the  females  of  these  contiguous 
colonies  are  never  observed  to  quarrel. 

The  Baltimore  oriole  (Yphantes  Baltimore),  a  bird  closely 
allied  to  the  cassiques,  builds  his  wonderful  nest  on  the  tulip- 
tree,  whose  leaves  and  flowers  are  his  chief  hunting-grounds  for 
caterpillars  and  beetles.  When  the  time  is  come  to  provide  a 
cradle  for  the  future  progeny,  the  male  gathers  the  long  filaments 
of  the  tillandsia  or  other  threadlike  materials,  and  fastens  one 


306  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

of  them  with  both  ends  to  two  neighbouring  branches.  Soon 
after  the  female  comes,  inspects  his  work,  and  places  another 
fibre  across  that  of  her  companion.  Thus  by  their  alternate 
labours  a  net  is  formed,  which  soon  assumes  the  form  of  a 
pensile  nest,  and  as  it  advances  towards  its  completion,  the 
affection  of  the  tender  couple  seems  to  increase.  Although  so 
strongly  constructed  that  it  will  bear  a  good  deal  of  rough 
handling  without  losing  its  form,  the  tissue  is  at  the  same 
time  so  loose  as  to  allow  the  air  to  pass  through  its  meshes ;  and 
as  the  parents  know  that  the  excessive  heat  of  summer  would 
incommode  their  young,  they  suspend  their  nest  so  as  to  catch 
the  cooler  breeze  of  the  north-east,  when  breeding  in  Louisiana ; 
while  in  more  temperate  regions,  such  as  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York,  they  always  give  it  a  southern  exposition,  and  take 
care  to  line  it  with  wool  or  cotton.  The  movements  of  these 
ingenious  little  architects  are  uncommonly  graceful,  their  song 
is  sweet;  they  migrate  in  winter  towards  more  southerly 
regions,  such  as  Mexico  or  Brazil,  and  return  after  the  vernal 
equinox  to  the  United  States. 

The  wonderful  pendulous  nests  of  the  American  cassiques  are 
emulated  by  the  labours  of  the  African  ploceidse  or  wea,ver-birds. 
Most  of  the  numerous  species  of  this  ingenious  family  likewise 
suspend  their  fabrics  to  the  ends  of  twigs,  small  branches, 
drooping  parasites,  palm-leaves  or  reeds,  and  many  always 
hang  their  nests  over  water,  and  at  no  very  great  height  above 
its  surface.  This  serves  as  an  effectual  protection  against  their 
enemies  the  monkeys  and  tree-snakes,  under  whose  weight  the 
slender  basis  of  the  nest,  were  they  to  attempt  its  capture, 
would  infallibly  give  way  and  precipitate  them  into  the  water 
beneath.  ( In  building,'  says  Captain  Drayson,  ( the  birds  first 
commence  by  working  some  stout  flags  or  reeds  from  the 
branch,  so  as  to  hang  downwards.  They  then  attach  the  upper 
part  of  the  nest  to  the  branch,  so  as  to  form  the  domelike  roof. 
By  degrees  they  complete  the  globular  ball,  still  working  down- 
wards, and  lastly  the  neck  is  attached  to  the  body  of  the  nest. 
Great  skill  is  required  to  keep  the  neck  even  and  open,  and  yet 
no  machine  could  accomplish  the  work  better  than  do  these 
ingenious  little  architects.  The  upper  part  of  the  nest  is  very 
thick  and  firmly  built,  more  than  twice  as  thick  as  the  neck, 
and  the  material  of  which  it  is  made  is  far  stronger.  In  some 


THE    BAYA   SPAKROW.  307 

instances  I  have  seen  one  nest  attached  to  another ;  and  when 
this  is  the  case,  the  second  builder  strengthens  the  first  nest, 
and  then  attaches  his  own  work  thereto.  Should  by  chance  a 
hawk  or  monkey  venture  into  the  vicinity  of  a  colony  of  these 
birds,  it  is  chased  and  chirped  at  by  hundreds  of  the  little 
creatures,  who  make  common  cause  against  the  intruder  and 
quickly  drive  him  off.  During  the  building  of  the  nests,  the 
riverside  is  a  most  interesting  place,  as  the  intelligence  and 
diligence  of  the  birds  are  most  remarkable. ' 

f  If  the  hand,'  says  the  author  of  '  Homes  without  Hands,' 
'  be  carefully  introduced  up  the  neck  of  one  of  these  nests,  its 
admirable  fitness  for  the  nurture  of  the  young  birds  is  at  once 
perceived.  When  merely  viewed  from  the  outside,  the  nest 
looks  as  if  it  would  be  a  very  unsafe  cradle,  and  would  permit 
the  young  birds  to  fall  through  the  neck  into  the  water.  A 
section  of  the  nest,  however,  shows  that  no  habitation  could  be 
safer,  and  even  the  hand  can  detect  the  wonderfully  ingenious 
manner  in  which  the  interior  is  constructed.  Just  where  the 
neck  is  united  to  the  ball,  a  kind  of  wall  or  partition  is  made 
about  two  inches  in  height,  which  runs  completely  across  the 
ball,  and  effectually  prevents  the  young  birds  from  falling  into 
the  neck.' 

Among  the  pensile  nest-builders  of  India,  the  -baya  sparrow 
yields  to  none  in  ingenuity.  These  clever  little  birds  are  found 
in  most  parts  of  Hindostan ;  they  have  no  song,  and  can  only 
chirp  in  a  monotonous  manner,  but  the  want  of  voice  finds  its 
compensation  in  the  brilliancy  of  the  plumage ;  for  though  the 
back  and  wings  are  brown,  the  head  and  breast  are  of  a  bright 
yellow,  so  that  in  the  rays  of  a  tropical  sun  the  bayas  have  a 
splendid  appearance  when  flying  by  thousands  in  the  same 
grove.  For  they  are  fond  of  associating  in  large  communities, 
and  cover  clumps  of  palmyras,  acacias,  and  date-trees  with  their 
nests.  These  are  formed  of  long  grass,  woven  together  in  the 
shape  of  a  bottle,  and  suspended,  like  those  of  the  cassique  and 
African  weaver,  to  the  end  of  flexible  branches —  for  throughout 
the  whole  tropical  world  the  same  instinct  has  been  given 
to  guard  against  the  same  dangers.  Sometimes  the  nest  is 
made  only  for  incubation,  sometimes  it  is  intended  merely 
as  an  arbour  in  which  the  male  sits  while  the  female  incubates 

x  2 


308 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


her  eggs,  and  sometimes  the  nest  and  arbour  are  woven  into 
one. 

The  Hindoos  are  very  fond  of  these  birds  for  their  docility 
and  sagacity ;  when  young  they  teach  them  to  fetch  and  carry, 
and  when  the  young  women  resort  to  the  public  fountains, 
their  lovers  instruct  the  baya  to  pluck  the  tica  or  golden  orna- 
ment from  the  forehead  of  their  favourite,  and  bring  it  to  their 
master. 


Nests  of  the  Baya  Sparrow. 

Generally  each  pair  of  the  numerous  species  of  weaver-birds 
constructs  its  separate  nest,  but  the  social  grosbeak  forms  a 
remarkable  exception  to  the  rule ;  for  here  we  find  not  one 
single  pair  but  hundreds  living  under  the  same  roof,  perfectly 
resembling  that  of  a  thatched  house,  and  with  a  projecting  ridge 
so  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  reptile  to  approach  the  entrances 
concealed  below.  These  lead  to  avenues  within,  with  nests 
ranged  on  both  sides  about  two  inches  apart ;  and  thus,  though 
inhabitants  of  the  same  aerial  city,  each  pair  enjoys  its  own 
private  dwelling.  The  tree  usually  selected  for  these  nests  is 
the  giraffe-acacia,  which  derives  its  name  from  its  constituting 


TAILOR-BIRDS.  309 

the  chief  food  of  the  camelopard ;  for  the  instinct  of  the  birds 
seems  to  have  pointed  out  to  them  that  it  is  peculiarly  adapted 
for  the  purpose,  as  its  smooth  and  polished  bark  effectually 
secures  them  from  the  attack  of  many  enemies,  who,  could  they 
but  ascend  the  trunk,  would  be  but  too  happy  to  suck  the  eggs 
and  destroy  the  young. 


The  Tailor  Bird  and  its  Nest. 

The  art  of  sewing  is  considered  as  one  of  the  oldest  inventions 
of  man ;  but  long  before  a  human  artist  ever  thought  of  using 
needle  and  thread,  the  birds  had  instinctively  been  taught  the 
virtues  of  a  fibre  thrust  through  holes.  Thus  the  Sylvia  Cysti- 
cola,  or  fan-tailed  "war  bier  of  Italy,  constructs  its  nest  among 
sedges  and  reeds,  which  it  unites  together  by  real  stitches ;  and 
the  edge  of  each  leaf  is  pierced  by  this  tailor-bird  with  minute 
holes,  through  which  it  passes  threads  formed  of  spiders'  web, 
particularly  from  the  silk  of  their  egg-pouches.  The  tailor- 
birds  of  India  are  still  more  expert  sewers,  for,  choosing  a  con- 
venient leaf  (generally  one  which  hangs  from  a  slender  twig), 
they  pierce  a  row  of  holes  along  each  edge,  using  their  beaks  in 
the  same  manner  that  a  shoemaker  uses  his  awl.  When  the 


310  THE   HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

holes  are  completed,  the  feathered  tailor  next  procures  his  thread, 
which  he  takes  care  to  choose  of  a  sufficient  length  and  solidity, 
and  begins  to  pass  it  through  the  holes,  drawing  the  sides  of 
the  leaf  towards  each  other,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  pouch  or 
purse  open  above.  Generally  a  single  leaf  is  used  for  the  pur- 
pose, but  whenever  the  bird  cannot  find  one  that  is  sufficiently 
large,  it  sews  two  together,  or  even  fetches  another  leaf  and 
fastens  it  with  the  fibre.  Within  the  hollow  thus  formed,  the 
bird  next  deposits  a  quantity  of  soft  down,  and  having  com- 
pleted her  nest,  leaps  from  branch  to  branch  to  testify  her 
happiness  by  a  clear  and  merry  note. 

The  mounds  in  which  the  tallegalla  or  brush-turkey  deposits 
its  eggs  are  in  their  way  no  less  remarkable  than  the  most  in- 
genious nests.  Like  the  thatched  dwellings  of  the  republican 
grosbeak,  they  are  not  the  work  of  a  single  pair,  but  of  a  large 
number  of  birds,  who  have  been  taught  by  a  beautiful  instinct 
to  direct  their  labours  to  a  common  end.  Tracing  a  circle  of 
considerable  radius,  the  birds  begin  to  travel  round  it,  continu- 
ally grasping  with  their  large  feet  the  leaves  and  grasses  and 
dead  twigs  which  are  lying  about,  and  flinging  them  inwards 
towards  the  centre.  Each  time  that  they  complete  their  rounds, 
they  narrow  their  circle,  so  as  ultimately  to  form  a  large  and 
rudely  conical  mound.  The  heap  being  accumulated,  and  time 
allowed  for  a  sufficient  heat  to  be  engendered,  the  next  process 
is  to  form  a  cavity,  in  which  the  eggs,  each  measuring  not  less 
than  four  inches  in  length — an  enormous  size  in  comparison  to 
that  of  the  bird — are  deposited,  not  side  by  side,  as  is  ordinarily 
the  case,  but  planted  or  arranged  perpendicularly,  and  nearly  in  a 
circle,  with  the  larger  end  upwards.  They  are  then  covered  up, 
and  are  hatched  by  the  joint  effects  of  fermentation  and  hot 
sunbeams.  By  adopting  this  process  the  bird  does  not  escape 
any  of  the  cares  of  paternity,  for  the  male  is  very  watchful 
over  the  eggs,  being  gifted  with  a  wonderful  instinct,  which 
tells  him  what  temperature  is  proper  for  them.  Sometimes  he 
covers  them  with  a  thick  layer  of  leaves,  and  sometimes  he 
lays  them  nearly  bare,  repeating  these  operations  several  times 
in  a  single  day.  After  six  weeks  of  burial,  the  eggs  give  up 
their  chicks — not  feeble  but  full-fledged  and  strong,  so  that  at 
night  they  scrape  holes  for  themselves,  and  lying  down  therein 
are  covered  by  the  old  birds,  and  thus  remain  until  morning. 


INSTINCT    OF    THK    CUCKOO.  311 

The  extraordinary  strength  of  the  newly-hatched  birds  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  size  of  the  egg,  since  in  so  large  a  volume 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  young  ones  would  be  much 
more  developed  than  is  usually  the  case. 

Even  where  architectural  skill  is  totally  wanting,  and  no  nests 
are  built  or  no  leaf-mounds  raised,  the  birds  evince  an  admi- 
rable care  for  the  welfare  of  their  future  progeny. 

The  sea-lark  contents  herself  with  laying  her  four  eggs  in  a 
small  cavity  on  the  ground,  but  places  them  with  the  small 
ends  touching  each  other  as  a  centre,  so  as  to  occupy  the  least 
possible  space,  and  thus  to  be  more  easily  hatched.  No  mathe- 
matician could  have  solved  the  problem  in  a  more  perfect 
manner ;  and  is  not  this  instinct,  after  all,  as  wonderful  as  that 
which  prompts  other  birds  to  construct  the  most  complicated 
dwellings  ?  Even  the  auk,  who  lays  her  single  egg  upon  the 
bare  edge  of  lofty  rocks  hanging  over  the  sea,  invariably  selects 
the  safest  spot  against  wind  and  weather ;  and  though  numbers 
of  birds  may  be  breeding  on  the  same  ledge,  yet  no  confusion 
ever  takes  place,  for  every  mother,  guided  by  an  unerring  in- 
stinct, knows  her  own  egg,  and  is  able  to  find  it  among 
hundreds. 

The  parental  instinct  of  birds  might  be  supposed  to  have 
reached  its  lowest  ebb  in  the  cuckoo,  who  never  hatching  her 
own  eggs,  deposits  them  in  the  nests  of  other  and  smaller  birds, 
such  as  the  hedge-sparrow,  the  titlark,  or  the  water-wagtail ; 
but  it  would  be  doing  the  parasitical  intruder  injustice  to 
attribute  this  shifting  of  her  own  burden  upon  the  shoulders  of 
another  to  a  peculiar  coldness  of  disposition,  or  to  a  culpable 
neglect  of  duty ;  for  as  the  caterpillars  on  which  the  large  bird 
feeds  do  not  afford  sufficient  nourishment  for  a  rapid  evolution 
of  germs,  the  cuckoo  lays  but  one  egg  every  eight  days,  from 
the  beginning  of  June  to  the  middle  of  July,  and  it  surely 
would  be  a  grievous  task  were  she  obliged  to  incubate  during 
the  best  part  of  the  summer.  But  a  most  admirable  instinct 
has  taught  her  to  seek  a  substitute  for  a  duty  she  is  unable  to 
perform  herself;  and  it  is  not  the  least  wonder  of  this  strange 
history,  that  the  eggs  of  the  cuckoo  are  of  an  unexampled 
smallness,  so  as  to  differ  but  little  in  size  and  appearance  from 
those  of  the  skylark  and  titlark,  though  the  disparity  of  the 
bulk  of  the  birds  is  very  great.  Thus  we  see  that  though  the 


312  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

young  of  the  cuckoo  miss  a  parent's  fostering  care,  nothing 
has  been  left  undone  that  might  lead  to  their  benefit. 

When  a  breeding  bird  is  attacked  by  an  enemy,  it  exhibits 
either  a  brilliant  heroism  or  an  admirable  courage.  In  de- 
fending their  young,  the  large  birds  of  prey  display  the  same 
fury  which  agitates  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  when  menaced 
in  their  tenderest  affections,  and  it  is  scarcely  less  danger- 
ous to  rob  the  lammergeier  of  its  young  than  to  deprive  the 
tigress  of  her  cubs ;  for  though  this  magnificent  bird  will  never 
attack  man  when  unprovoked,  yet  there  are  numerous  in- 
stances on  record  where  he  has  boldly  engaged  in  mortal  combat 
with  the  despoiler  of  his  nest.  Of  these  I  shall  cite  but  one, 
mentioned  by  Tschudi  in  his  work  on  the  Animal  Life  of  the 
Alps. 

Joseph  Scherrer,  a  famous  chamois-hunter,  once  climbed 
barefoot  up  a  rock,  with  his  fowlingpiece  slung  over  his 
shoulder,  to  plunder  a  lammergeier 's  nest.  Before  he  reached 
the  roost,  the  male  bird  attacked  him  and  was  shot.  Scherrer 
reloaded  his  gun  a,nd  continued  to  ascend.  But  now  the 
female  bird  rushed  upon  him  with  inconceivable  rage,  buried 
her  talons  in  his  thighs,  and  endeavoured  to  hurl  him  down  the 
precipice,  wounding  him  at  the  same  time  with  her  sharp  beak. 
His  situation  was  most  critical,  for  he  required  all  his  strength 
to  keep  his  ground  and  to  ward  off  the  infuriated  bird.  His 
uncommon  presence  of  mind  saved  him,  however,  from  what 
seemed  inevitable  destruction.  With  one  hand  he  directed  the 
barrel  of  his  gun  upon  the  bird,  and  pulling  the  trigger  with 
his  naked  toe,  lodged  a  fatal  bullet  in  its  breast. 

The  adjoined  facsimile  of  a  print  of  the  celebrated  Eidinger, 
representing  a  large  chamois  hurled  from  a  rock  by  a  lammer- 
geier, gives  us  an  idea  of  the  Alpine  bird's  strength,  and  shows 
how  truly  formidable  he  must  be,  even  to  the  most  vigorous  and 
expert  huntsman,  when  agitated  by  parental  rage. 

Yet  not  only  the  powerful  raptorial  birds,  but  even  the  weakest 
of  the  class  become  inspired  with  a  lionlike  courage  when  the 
safety  of  their  progeny  is  at  stake.  On  the  approach  of  an 
intrusive  bird,  though  ten  times  bigger  than  himself,  the  male 
colibri  will  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  attack  the  disturber  of  his 
rest;  his  bravery  adds  a  tenfold  increase  to  his  powers,  the 
rapidity  of  his  movements  confounds  his  enemy,  and  finally 


PARENTAL   INSTINCT   OF  THE    OSTRICH.  313 

puts  him  to  flight.  Proud  of  his  victory,  the  little  champion 
returns  to  his  partner,  and  flaps  triumphantly  his  gemlike 
wings. 

The  artifices  employed  by  the  partridge,  the  lapwing,  the 
ringplover,  the  pewit,  and  numerous  other  land-birds,  to  blind 
the  vigilance  and  divert  the  attention  of  those  who  may  come 
near  their  little  ones,  are  equally  curious.  When  the  sea-lark 
sees  the  enemy — man  or  dog — approach,  it  does  not  await 
their  arrival  but  advances  to  meet  them.  Then  suddenly  rising 
with  a  shrill  cry,  as  if  just  disturbed  from  its  nest,  it  flutters 
along  the  ground  as  if  crippled,  and  entices  them  farther  and 
farther  from  its  young.  The  dogs,  expecting  to  catch  an  easy 
prey,  follow  the  lame  bird,  which  suddenly,  however,  flies  off 
with  lightning  speed,  and  leaves  its  disappointed  pursuers  on 
the  beach. 

Calumny  has  been  very  busy  about  the  ostrich,  accusing  it  of 
stupidity  and  want  of  parental  feeling ;  but  it  is  now  fully 
proved  that  no  bird  has  a  stronger  affection  for  its  offspring,  or 
watches  its  nest  with  a  greater  assiduity.  Contrary  to  the 
general  opinion,  she  always  broods  over  her  eggs  at  night,  and 
only  leaves  them  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day. 

Her  instinct  in  providing  food  for  her  young  appears  to  be 
without  parallel,  and  is  thus  noticed  by  Le  Vaillant :  '  During 
this  day's  journey  I  met  with  the  nest  of  an  ostrich,  upon  which 
the  female  was  hatching ;  there  were  three  eggs,  deposited  on 
the  bare  ground,  lying  before  her,  and  she  was  sitting  upon  nine 
others,  the  young  of  which  were  in  so  advanced  a  state  as  to  be 
ready  to  burst  the  shell.'  This  wonderful  provision,  when  we 
consider  how  difficult  it  would  be  for  the  brood  to  find  any 
other  suitable  food  in  its  sterile  haunts,  was  considered  in- 
credible when  first  announced  as  a  fact  by  this  well-known 
traveller ;  but  subsequent  observations  have,  in  this  instance  as 
in  many  others,  fully  proved  Tris  veracity. 

To  protect  her  young,  the  ostrich  has  recourse  to  the  same 
artifices  which  we  admire  in  the  plover,  endeavouring  to  divert 
attention  from  her  nest  by  feigning  lameness  or  inability  to 
fly ;  so  that,  far  from  being  the  cold-hearted  and  stupid  creature 
she  is  frequently  supposed  to  be,  she  in  reality  affords  us  a 
wonderful  example  of  the  power  of  parental  affection  in  rous- 
ing the  intelligence  of  an  animal  to  higher  exertions  at  the 


314  THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

approach  of  danger,  and  raising  it,  as  it  were,  above  its  usual 
level. 

Although  the  brain  of  the  birds  is  far  less  developed  than 
that  of  the  quadrupeds,  yet  in  point  of  intelligence  they  are 
scarcely  inferior.  Their  memory  is  truly  surprising,  for  after 
a  long  absence,  and  a  voyage  of  many  hundred  miles,  the  mi- 
gratory birds  return  with  unerring  certainty  to  their  former 
haunts.  The  stork,  who  passes  his  winter  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nile,  knows  where  to  find  again  the  Dutch  peasant's  roof, 
where  the  comfortable  box  at  the  top  of  the  chimney  is  pre- 
pared for  the  reception  of  his  nest;  and  year  after  year,  the 
swallow,  after  revelling  in  the  orange-groves  of  Italy,  or  among 
the  palms  of  Africa,  revisits  the  same  English  cottage,  ever 
ready  to  welcome  him  under  the  same  hospitable  thatch. 

D'Orbigny  relates  a  remarkable  instance  of  memory  in  an 
American  turkey-buzzard.  Eelying  on  their  inviolability,  for 
being  extremely  useful  as  scavengers  they  are  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  law,  these  disgusting  birds  are  uncommonly  bold ; 
and  during  the-  distributions  of  meat  to  the  Indians,  which 
regularly  take  place  every  fortnight  in  the  South  American  mis- 
sions, they  not  seldom  come  in  for  their  share  by  dint  of  impu- 
dence. In  Concepcion  de  Mojos  an  Indian  told  M.  d'Orbigny, 
who  was  present  on  one  of  those  occasions,  that  he  would  soon 
have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  a  most  notorious  thief,  well 
known  by  his  lame  leg ;  and  the  bird  making  his  appearance 
soon  after,  completely  justified  his  reputation.  The  traveller 
was  also  informed  that  this  ill-famed  urubu  knew  perfectly  well 
the  days  of  distribution  in  the  different  missions ;  and  eight 
days  later,  while  witnessing  a  similar  scene  at  Magdalena,  twenty 
leagues  distant,  he  heard  the  Indians  exclaim,  and  looking  up, 
saw  his  lame  acquaintance  of  Concepcion  hurrying  to  the  spot 
with  the  anxious  mien  of  a  famished  traveller,  afraid  of  coming 
too  late  for  his  share.  The  padres  in  both  missions  assured  him 
that  the  vulture  never  failed  to  make  his  appearance  at  the 
stated  time. 

The  parrot  gives  numberless  proofs  of  intelligence ;  he  not 
only  imitates  the  voice  of  man,  but  has  also  a  strong  desire  to 
do  so,  which  he  manifests  by  his  attention  in  listening,  and  by 
the  continuous  efforts  he  makes  to  repeat  the  phrases  he  has 


MIGRATORY    INSTINCT   OF   BIRDS.  315 

heard.  He  seems  to  impose  upon  himself  a  daily  task,  which 
even  occupies  him  during  sleep,  as  he  speaks  in  his  dreams.  His 
memory  is  astonishing.  Le  Vaillant  says  that  he  heard  a  parrot 
repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  from  beginning  to  end  in  the  Dutch 
language ;  and  M.  de  la  Borde  told  Buffon  he  had  seen  one  that 
was  fully  able  to  perform  the  duty  of  a  ship's  chaplain.  This 
intelligent  bird  is  also  susceptible  of  great  attachment  to  his 
master,  and,  like  the  elephant,  does  not  easily  forget  the  insults 
he  has  received,  and  knows  how  to  resent  them. 

The  stork  also  has  a  most  wonderful  memory,  and  soon  learns 
to  understand  the  actions  and  even  the  language  of  man.  Dr. 
Schinz,  a  Swiss  naturalist,  kept  during  several  years  a  couple 
of  tame  storks,  and  thus  had  frequent  opportunities  of  noticing 
their  remarkable  intelligence.  They  knew  their  names  as  well 
as  a  dog,  and  on  being  called,  would  immediately  come  to  their 
master.  During  the  season  of  the  cockchafers,  they  followed 
him  to  pick  up  the  beetles  he  shook  down  from  the  trees,  and 
evidently  invited  him  by  their  gestures  to  do  so.  They  are 
very  fond  of  earthworms,  and  when  anyone  took  a  spade  in 
his  hand,  they  immediately  understood  what  was  meant,  and 
ran  up  to  him  while  digging,  as  if  well  aware  that  they  had  a 
treat  to  expect. 

The  migratory  instinct,  although  sometimes  occurring  in 
other  classes  of  animals,  is  much  more  general  among  the  birds, 
who,  thanks  to  their  light  wings,  possess  the  enviable  privilege 
of  enjoying  the  delights  or  avoiding  the  inclemencies  of  every 
climate.  They  do  not  wait  till  the  cold  becomes  intolerable — 
they  are  not  gradually  driven  away  by  the  increasing  severity  of 
the  autumnal  blasts ;  but  before  necessity  makes  itself  felt,  a 
strange  restlessness  seizes  them,  an  invincible  impulse  to  wing 
their  flight  to  distant  regions.  Then  the  storks  assemble  in  large 
flocks,  and  though  usually  silent,  make  a  loud  clattering  noise, 
as  if  consulting  before  the  journey  they  are  about  to  undertake ; 
when  they  are  actually  on  the  point  of  leaving,  the  whole 
troop  becomes  silent,  and  moves  at  once,  generally  in  the 
night,  to  alight  in  a  few  days  in  Egypt  or  Nubia,  on  the 
sunny  banks  of  the  abounding  Nile.  There  they  enjoy  the 
temperate  warmth  of  a  tropical  winter ;  but  when  the  heat  in- 
creases, their  travelling  instinct  revives,  and  forces  them  to 
return  to  the  northern  lowlands,  where  genial  spring  awaits 


316  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

them,  with  the  plenty  and  the  mild  temperature  they  require 
for  the  rearing  of  their  progeny. 

While  numerous  birds  leave  us  in  autumn,  others,  which 
have  brought  forth  their  young  in  the  Arctic  regions,  seek  our 
shores  at  that  season  of  the  year,  or  pass  over  our  heads  on 
their  way  to  more  southern  lands :  for  the  icebound  lakes, 
the  frozen  rivers,  the  deserted  channels,  and  the  snowclad 
shores  of  the  hyperborean  zone  are  no  longer  able  to  afford 
them  any  nourishment,  and  in  spite  of  their  thick  downy 
mantle,  a  temperature  which  converts  mercury  into  a  solid 
body  may  render  a  change  desirable.  But  as  the  days  again 
lengthen,  and  the  sun,  rising  higher  and  higher  in  the  heavens, 
dissolves  the  iron  bonds  of  winter,  the  dispersed  legions  of 
ducks,  geese,  swans,  strand  and  sea-birds  advance  once  more 
from  the  south  to  feast  upon  the  abundance  of  the  softened 
earth  or  of  the  prolific  waters,  and  to  rear  their  young  under 
the  grateful  influence  of  a  continuous  day. 

Thus  the  living  tide  ebbs  and  flows  in  everlasting  succession, 
and  as  the  floods  of  the  ocean  obey  the  behests  of  distant 
celestial  bodies,  thus  also  the  migrations  of  the  birds  are  ruled 
by  immutable  and  eternal  laws  ! 


317 


CHAPTER    XXVIT. 

MAMMALIA. 

Modifications  in  the  Structure  of  their  Limbs — Fins  of  the  Whale,  Walrus,  and 
Seals — Wings  of  the  Bat — The  Nycteris —  The  Flying  Squirrel — Shovels  of 
the  Mole — Limbs  of  the  Cervine  and  Bovine  Eaces — The  colossal  Pillars  of  the 
Elephant— The  Hare— The  Jumping  Hare—The  Kangaroo— The  Sloth— Mon- 
keys— Leaps  of  the  Wanderoo — The  Squirrels — Soles  and  Toes — Sole-pads  of 
the  Camel — Prehensile  Tail  of  the  American  Monkeys  and  other  Quadrupeds — 
Tail  of  the  Aquatic  Mammalia,  of  the  American  Ant-Bear,  of  the  Kangaroo  and 
Pengolin — Masticatory  Organs — Teeth  of  the  Carnivora,  the  Kuminantia,  and  the 
Rodents— The  Baleen  of  the  Whale— The  Ant-eater's  Tongue— The  Stomach,  of 
the  Ruminants — The  Camel's  Paunch — Water-pouches  of  the  Elephant — Cheek- 
pouches  of  the  Hamster — Senses  of  the  Mammalia — The  Elephant's  Proboscis — 
Defensive  and  Aggressive  Weapons  of  Mammalia — Burrows  of  the  Prairie  Dog — 
The  Hamster's  Cave — Habitations  of  the  Beaver  and  the  Musquash — The  Mole 
and  the  Australian  Duckbill — The  Armadillo  and  the  Hedgehog — The  Porcu- 
pine— The  Skunk — Gregarious  Quadrupeds — Guards — Bird -guardians  of  the 
Rhinoceros  and  the  African  Buffalo — Friendships  of  Animals — The  Tiger  and  the 
Dog — Attachment  of  Domestic  Animals  to  Man — Parental  Affection — Pouch  of 
the  Opossum  and  Kangaroo — Services  of  the  Quadrupeds — Sagacity  of  the  Dog, 
the  Horse,  the  Monkey  and  the  Elephant — Hybernation — Happiness  of  the 
Wild  Quadrupeds. 

THE  Mammalia,  the  last-born  of  creation,  exhibit  the  highest 
types  of  organic  development,  a  greater  harmony  between  the 
various  parts  of  the  nervous  system  than  is  found  in  any  of  the 
preceding  classes,  an  increasing  preponderance  of  the  brain. 
Several  of  them — such  as  the  Rodents  or  Opossums — are,  no 
doubt,  inferior  to  many  of  the  birds  in  point  of  intelligence  and 
instinct ;  but  even  the  most  perfect  among  the  feathered  tribes 
are  not  to  be  compared  in  this  respect  to  the  horse,  the  dog,  the 
elephant,  or  the  ape  ;  and  although  civilized  man  delights  in  the 
song  of  birds,  or  in  the  beauty  of  their  plumage,  yet  his  con- 
nection with  the  domestic  mammalia  is  far  more  intimate; 
for  without  the  assistance  of  these  humble  companions,  his  own 


318 


THE   HAKMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


existence  on  earth  would  be  reduced  to  the  low   level  of  -the 
wretched  Fuegian  or  of  the  wild  Indian  hunter. 

As  the  mammalia  bow  to  the  supremacy  of  man,  thus  also, 
with  rare  exceptions,  all  other  animals  are  subject  to  their 
dominion  :  swimming,  they  pursue  the  fishes  of  the  sea  ;  flying 

and  burrowing,  they  give  chase 
to  insects  and  worms ;  climbing 
and  springing,  running  and  lying 
in  wait,  by  cunning  or  by  violence, 
they  prey  upon  the  birds  that 
nestle  in  the  trees  of  the  forest  or 
seek  concealment  in  the  fields. 

Although  their  internal  parts 
are  very  similarly  organised, -yet 
so  vast  a  difference  in  their  mode 
of  life  necessarily  required  cor- 
responding modifications  in  the 
structure  of  their  limbs,  which, 
though  formed  upon  the  same  fun- 
damental plan,  have  in  every  case 
been  most  beautifully  adapted  to 
answer  a  peculiar  end. 

The  whales  and  dolphins,  to 
whom  the  wide  ocean  has  been 
given  as  a  home,  naturally  require 
no  fingered  hand  for  climbing, 
no  legs  for  bounding  with  elastic 
spring.  A  mighty  horizontal 
tail  stretching  sideways  into  an 
enormous  fin,  and  striking  up 
and  down,  impels  the  giant  body 
through  the  waters ;  the  hind- 
feet,  which  here  would  not  only 
have  been  useless  but  a  positive 
incumbrance,  are  wanting;  and 
the  anterior  extremities  assume 
the  form  of  large  pectoral  fins, 
which,  besides  performing  the  offices  of  oars,  serve  also  to  protect 
and  guide  the  helpless  young.  The  anatomical  structure  of 
these  members,  externally  so  totally  different  from  the  human 


Bones  of  the  Anterior  Fin  of 
Whale  (Balasna  Mysticetus). 


To  face  p.  319. 


SEALS    CATCHING    FISH. 


COMPARATIVE   ANATOMY    OF   MAMMALIA. 


319 


arm  and  hand,  shows  us,  however,  that  they  are  both  intrinsically 
alike — as  in  the  anterior  fin  of  the  whale  we  distinctly  perceive 
the  bones  which  belong  to  our  own  anterior  extremities.  But 
the  arm,  which  in  all  its  parts  is  freely  moveable  in  man,  is  here 
closely  attached  to  the  body;  and  the  hand — which,  obedient 
to  our  rational  will,  performs  so  many  wonderful  works — is  in 
the  whale  covered  with  a  thick  skin,  which  prevents  all  in- 
dividual action  of  the  fingers,  and  converts  the  member  into  a 
simple  oar,  such  as  best  suits  the  animal's  peculiar  mode 
of  life. 

The  same  absence  of  hind-legs  characterises  the  manatees  and 
dugongs,  but  here  the  paddles  or  forefins  are  more  free  in  their 
movements,  and  exhibit  rudiments  of  nails,  by  the  aid  of  which 


Skeleton  of  Seal. 

these  unwieldy  creatures  drag  themselves   along  the  shores  of 
gulfs  and  estuaries,  to  browse  on  the  marine 
algae  which  constitute  their  food. 

In  the  walrus  and  the  large  family  of  seals, 
which  have  been  formed  to  inhabit  both  the  sea 
and  the  land,  the  forelimbs  are  still  more  deve- 
loped ;  and  short  hinder  extremities,  with  distinct 
toes,  joined  by  a  swimming  membrane,  and  well 
adapted  both  for  rapidly  cleaving  the  waters 
and  slowly  progressing  on  solid  ground,  assume 
the  part  of  the  receding  tail. 

Among  the  other  mammalia  which  seek  their  prey  in  the 


Hinder  Extremities 
of  Seal. 


320  THE   HAKMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

waters,  we  find  the  construction  of  the  extremities  equally  well- 
fitted  for  swimming.  Thus  .the  legs  of  the  otter  are  short 
and  strong,  but  so  loosely  articulated  as  to  turn  in  every  direc- 
tion while  swimming — the  feet  broad,  to  act  as  paddles,  and 
the  toes  connected  by  a  complete  web.  Provided  with  such  excel- 
lent oars,  which  are  moreover  assisted  by  the  flat  and  broad 
tail  and  the  elongated  and  much-flattened  body,  the  otter  is 
able  to  breast  the  stream  for  hours  together — raising  its  head 
from  time  to  time  out  of  the  water,  to  draw  breath  or  to  look 
about  him. 

The  amphibious  beaver  and  the  extraordinary  inullingong,  or 
duck-billed  platypus,  whose  existence  as  a  mammalian  was  long 
a  matter  of  doubt,  likewise  show  by  the  formation  of  their 
extremities  how  well  their  peculiar  wants  have  been  provided 
for.  In  its  webbed  hind-feet  the  former  possesses  most  excellent 
rudders,  while  the  unw ebbed  toes  of  its  forefeet  are  no  less 
admirably  adapted  for  seizing  the  branches  and  trunks  of  trees, 
which  it  uses  for  the  construction  of  its  huts,  or  on  whose  bark  it 
feeds. 

In  the  mullingong,  on  the  contrary,  we  find  the  forefeet 
provided  with  a  web,  which  not  only  unites  and  fills  the  inter- 
spaces of  the  long  toes,  but  even  extends  beyond  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  claws ;  while  the  web  of  the  short  and  narrow 
hind-foot,  terminating  at  the  base  of  the  claws,  is  far  less  deve- 
loped. But  as  the  mullingong  is  not  only  an  aquatic  but  also  a 
burrowing  animal,  the  large  web  of  the  forefeet,  which  else 
would  have  been  very  much  in  the  way,  is  loose,  so  a§  to  fall 
back  when  its  possessor  is  scratching  the  earth ;  and  thus,  by  a 
most  ingenious  contrivance,  the  same  organ  serves  equally  well 
as  an  oar  and  as  a  shovel. 

While  in  all  these  cases  the  limbs  are  most  admirably  fitted 
for  an  aquatic  or  amphibious  life,  those  of  the  bats  are  no  less 
beautifully  adapted  for  aerial  locomotion.  For  here  the  slender 
delicate  bones  of  the  forearm,  and  particularly  those  of  all  the 
fingers  excepting  the  thumb,  are  extremly  elongated,  so  as  to  serve 
like  the  frame  of  an  umbrella  for  the  expansion  of  an  enormous 
wing  or  thin  membrane,  which  reaches  also  to  the  hind-legs,  and 
from  them  to  the  tail.  It  is  evident  that  with  forefeet  like 
these,  the  walking  or  creeping  movements  of  the  bat  must  be 
exceedingly  awkward,  and  that  the  strange  creature  is  far  from 


THE   BAT. 


321 


being  a  model  of  grace,  when  with  folded  wings  it  crawls  slowly 
along  on  its  projecting  elbows.  To  fly  upwards  from  the  ground 
is  a  still  more  difficult  task,  and  in  the  large-winged  species 
is  impossible.  In  this  case  the  bat  is  obliged  to  crawl  up 
a  wall  or  a  tree,  which  it  can  easily  do  by  means  of  its  sharp 
claws,  and  then  dropping  down  it  expands  its  wings  in  the  air. 
Its  organization  would  surely  have  been  very  imperfect  were  it 
always  obliged  to  prepare  for  flight  in  this  inconvenient  and 


Skeleton  of  Pteropus. 

circuitous  manner,  but  it  is  only  by  accident  that  it  ever  sets  foot 
on  the  ground,  where  many  dangers  would  await  it,  and  where 
it  has  nothing  to  seek.  Whenever  it  wishes  to  rest  from  flight 
it  can  at  all  times  hook  itself  with  its  thumb-nail  to  a  tree,  a 
rock,  or  any  other  rough  surface ;  and  during  sleep  it  suspends 
itself  by  its  hinder-claws  with  the  head  downwards,  under  the 
roofs  of  houses  and  churches,  in  caverns,  ruined  buildings,  and 
similar  situations,  so  as  to  be  able  to  spread  out  its  wings  im- 
mediately, whenever  it  desires  to  do  so.  Its  forearm  is  incapa- 
ble of  rotating  like  the  human  arm,  in  consequence  of  the  union 
of  the  bones  of  which  it  is  composed,  and  this  is  another  admira- 
ble adaptation  to  its  peculiar  habits.  Not  only  would  the  pro- 
nation  and  supination  of  the  hand  be  wholly  useless  to  the  bats, 


322  THE    HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 

but  at  every  impulse  of  their  flight  such  a  motion  would  de- 
prive the  whole  limb  of  its  resistance  to  the  air ;  or  it  would 
require  the  constant  exertion  of  such  a  degree  of  antagonising 
muscular  force  to  prevent  it,  as  would  be  incompatible  with  the 
essential  structure  of  these  organs  of  flight. 

As  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  natatorial  birds 
have  a  large  gland  situated  at  the  extremity  of  the  back,  with 
whose  unctuous  secretion  they  lubricate  their  feathers,  and  thus 
render  them  impermeable  to  the  wet.  A  similar  protection  has 
also  been  afforded  to  the  bats  in  the  oily  secretion  of  their  wings, 
so  that  in  damp  weather  the  rain,  which  otherwise  would  very 
much  impede  their  flight,  drops  from  them  as  from  a  weather- 
proof mantle. 

But  it  is  not  only  by  their  winglike  arms  that  the  bats  are 
admirably  formed  for  flight — the  whole  structure  of  their  body 
harmonises  as  well  with  their  peculiar  mode  of  life,  as  the  long- 
tapering  shape  of  the  seals  or  whales  with  their  aquatic  habits. 
All  their  bones,  not  merely  those  of  the  arms,  are  extremely  thin 
and  slight ;  the  breastbone  is  provided,  like  that  of  the  birds, 
with  a  keel,  serving  for  the  attachment  of  the  powerful  muscles 
which  perform  the  movements  of  flight ;  the  head  is  singularly 
diminutive  and  the  neck  short,  so  that  the  centre  of  gravity  falls 
below  the  wings.  In  the  genus  Nycteris  the  specific  weight  of 
the  body,  and  consequently  the  labour  of  flying,  is  still  more 
diminished  by  the  curious  faculty  possessed  by  these  animals  of 
inflating  the  subcutaneous  tissue  with  air.  The  skin  adheres  to 
the  body  only  at  certain  points  ;  it  is  therefore  susceptible  of 
being  raised  from  the  surface  on  the  back,  as  well  as  on  the 
under-parts.  These  large  spaces  are  filled  with  air  at  the  will 
of  the  Nycteris,  by  means  of  large  cheek-pouches,  which  are 
pierced  at  the  bottom,  and  thus  communicate  with  the  subcu- 
taneous spaces  just  mentioned.  When  the  animal  therefore 
wishes  to  inflate  its  skin,  it  inspires,  closes  the  nostrils,  and  then, 
as  it  contracts  the  cavity  of  the  chest,  the  air  is  forced  through  the 
openings  in  the  cheek -pouches,  under  the  skin,  from  whence  it  is 
prevented  from  returning  by  means  of  muscular  contraction, 
and  by  large  valves  on  the  neck  and  back.  By  this  curious 
mechanism,  the  bat  has  the  power  of  so  completely  blowing  up 
the  spaces  under  the  skin  as  to  give  the  idea  of  a  small  balloon, 
with  wings,  a  head,  and  feet.  In  Johnson's  well-known  tale  of 


THE    FLYING-FOXES.  323 

c  Rasselas,'  we  meet  with  a  mechanician  who,  wishing  to  try  a  pair 
of  artificial  wings  which  he  had  invented,  fell  headlong  into  a 
lake  a  short  distance  from  the  tower  whence  he  had  first  taken 
his  adventurous  flight.  Had  this  unfortunate  man  been  able  to 
render  his  bones  comparatively  as  light  as  those  of  the  bat — had 
he  been  able  to  reduce  the  weight  of  his  body  to  a  tenth  part, 
and  to  render,  at  the  same  time,  the  muscles  of  his  arm  ten 
times  thicker  and  more  powerful  than  they  were,  then,  perhaps, 
he  might  have  been  more  successful :  or,  had  he  studied  the 
anatomy  of  the  bat,  he  surely  would  have  given  up  all  idea  of 
ever  rivalling  a  creature  of  a  construction  so  different  from 
that  of  his  own  body ! 

All  the  European  bats  are  insectivorous,  but  the  large  kalongs 
or  flying-foxes  of  India,  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  and  the  tropical 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  chiefly  live  upon  fruits.  Certain  modifica- 
tions in  the  structure  of  the  instruments  of  flight  have  been 
made  to  harmonise  with  this  difference  of  diet.  Thus  the 
clavicle  and  the  keel  of  the  breastbone  are  more  developed 
in  the  insectivorous  than  in  the  herbivorous  bats,  for  the  very 
obvious  reason  that  the  former  are  obliged  to  use  greater  exer- 
tions in  the  pursuit  of  their  swift  and  active  prey,  than  the 
latter  in  merely  flying  from  place  to  place  in  search  of  their 
stationary  food.  The  existence  of  a  tail,  for  the  support  and 
extension  of  a  broad  membrane  extending  between  the  hind- 
legs,  compared  with  its  absence  or  comparative  inefficiency 
in  many  of  the  frugivorous  bats,  also  points  out  an  interesting 
relation  to  the  different  habits  of  the  two  groups — the  former 
structure  being  calculated  to  afford  a  powerful  and  effective 
rudder  in  guiding  their  rapid  and  varying  evolutions  in  the  pur- 
suit of  their  insect  food. 

Besides  the  bats,  there  are  several  other  mammalia  which, 
although  incapable  of  a  prolonged  flight,  are  assisted  or  sup- 
ported in  their  movements  by  winglike  expansions  of  the  skin  ; 
and  all  these  animals  have  a  comparatively  slender  and  light 
body,  for  Providence  would  never  have  committed  the  mistake 
of  investing  a  huge  bulky  creature  with  so  useless  an  ap- 
pendage. 

Thus,  by  means  of  a  parachute-like  extension  of  its  skin  be- 
tween the  anterior  and  posterior  limbs  on  each  side,  and  between 

Y   2 


324 


THE    HARMONIES   OF   NATUKE. 


the  posterior  limbs  and  the  tail,  the  flying  lemur  or  galeo- 
pithecus  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago  takes  long  sweeping  leaps 
from  tree  to  tree;  and  the  flying-squirrels,  which  inhabit  both 
the  interminable  forests  of  the  North  and  the  woods  of  Ceylon 
and  India,  are  assisted  in  a  similar  manner  by  a  fold  of  the 


Flying  Squirrel. 

skin  of  the  flanks,  which  on  the  extension  of  the  limbs,  front 
and  rear,  is  literally  expanded  from  foot  to  foot.  Thus  buoyed 
up  in  their  descent,  the  spring  which  these  elegant  little 
creatures  are  enabled  to  make  from  one  lofty  tree  to  another, 
always  directing  their  flight  obliquely  downwards,  resembles 
the  swift  aerial  sailing  of  a  bird  rather  than  the  bound  of  a 
quadruped. 


THE    MOLE.  325 

The  forefeet,  which  in  the  seals  and  bats  do  service  as  oars 
and  wings,  are  in  the  mole  converted  into  powerful  shovels. 
Situated  obliquely  outwards,  they  are  excessively  strong  and 
broad,  and  moreover  furnished  with  very  large  and  stout  claws ; 
so  that  they  are  able  to  work  their  way  through  a  favourable 
soil  with  astonishing  rapidity,  while  the  diminutive  hind-feet 
are  employed  in  throwing  back  the  previously-excavated  earth. 
The  long  and  moveable  snout,  which  acts  in  some  measure  as  a 
wedge,  assists  the  mole  in  pushing  along  through  the  soil :  and 
every  worm  and  larva  it  meets  on  its  way  is  instantly  devoured 
with  greedy  haste,  for  no  animal  is  less  able  to  endure  fasting, 
and  hence  it  may  be  inferred  how  great  a  destruction  it  causes 


Skeleton  of  the  Mole. 

among  the  grubs  of  noxious  insects.  The  services  it  thus  ren- 
ders are  far  greater  than  any  detriment  it  may  cause  to  the  roots 
of  garden-plants ;  and  if  the  husbandman  knew  better  how  to 
distinguish  his  friends  from  his  enemies,  he  certainly  would  be 
more  anxious  to  protect  the  mole,  than  mercilessly  to  destroy  it 
wherever  he  meets  with  it. 

Though  not  seeking  their  nourishment  under  the  earth  like 
the  mole,  many  other  mammalians  prefer  a  subterraneous  abode, 
or  endeavour  to  escape  from  pursuit  by  quickly  burrowing  in 
the  earth,  and  in  all  these  cases  we  invariably  find  short  stout- 
legs  and  powerful  claws ;  for  wherever  Providence  has  given  a 
creature  a  particular  instinct,  it  has  also  taken  care  to  provide 
it  with  the  instruments  that  are  necessary  for  bringing  it  into 
action.  Thus  armed,  the  armadillos  burrow  with  such  asto- 
nishing rapidity,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  at  them 
by  digging ;  and  the  African  aardvarks  are  no  less  expert,  for 
when  once  their  muscular  forefeet  have  penetrated  into  the 
ground,  the  strongest  man  cannot  draw  them  back. 


326 


THE    HAKMONIES   OF   NATURE. 


Long  and  yet  muscular  legs  characterise  those  quadrupeds 
which  are  most  remarkable  for  their  agility  in  running.  They 
do  not  tread  upon  the  whole  sole  of  their  foot  as  we  do,  but 
only  upon  the  extremity  of  their  toes ;  so  that  the  foot  con- 
tributes to  elongate  their  limbs,  and  enables  them  to  make 
greater  strides  without  any  increase  of  exertion.  It  is  to  this 
peculiarity  of  gait  and  structure  that  the  cervine  and  equine 
races  owe  both  the  elegant  form  and  the  unrivalled  celerity  of 
their  limbs. 


Skeleton  of  the  Deer. 


The  bovine  races  being  of  a  more  robust  shape,  and  lower  in 
proportion  to  their  bulk,  are  of  inferior  swiftness  ;  but  these  also, 
particularly  in  their  wild  state,  unite  considerable  strength  with 
a  remarkable  agility.  The  bison  is  so  strong,  that  sometimes 
when  pursued  it  has  been  known  to  knock  down  trees  as  thick 
as  a  man's  arm  in  its  flight,  and  yet  so  quick  as  to  plunge  even 
through  deep  snow  faster  than  an  Indian  can  run  upon  it  in 
snow-shoes. 

The  limbs  of  the   elephant  are  necessarily  constructed  more 


THE   ELEPHANT.  327 

with  a  view  to  ensure  strength,  adequate  to  sustain  its  pro- 
digious weight,  than  to  permit  of  agile  and  active  movements ; 
but  these  massive  pillars,  seemingly  so  unwieldy  and  uncouth, 
have  been  made  to  unite  strength  and  flexibility  in  a  remarkable 
degree ;  so  that  their  possessor  is  able  to  ascend  and  de- 
scend steep  acclivities,  to  climb  rocks,  and  traverse  precipitous 
ledges,  where  even  the  surefooted  mule  would  hardly  venture. 
The  first  manoeuvre  of  an  elephant  descending  a  bank  of  too~ 
acute  an  angle  to  admit  of  his  walking  down  it  direct  (for,  were 
he  to  attempt  this,  his  huge  body,  soon  disarranging  the  centre 
of  gravity,  would  certainly  topple  over),  is  to  kneel  down  close 
to  the  edge  of  the  declivity,  placing  his  chest  to  the  ground ; 
one  foreleg  is  then  cautiously  passed  a  short  way  down  the 
slope,  and  if  there  is  no  natural  protection  to  afford  a  firm 
footing,  he  speedily  forms  one  by  stamping  into  the  soil  if 
moist,  or  kicking  out  a  footing  if  dry.  This  point  gained,  the 
other  foreleg  is  brought  down  in  the  same  way,  and  performs 
the  same  work,  a  little  in  advance  of  the  first,  which  is  thus  at 
liberty  to  move  lower  still.  Then  first  one  and  then  the  second 
of  the  hind-legs  is  carefully  drawn  over  the  side,  and  the  hind- 
feet  in  turn  occupy  the  resting-places  previously  used  and  left 
by  the  forefeet.  The  course,  however,  in  such  precipitous 
ground,  is  not  straight  from  top  to  bottom,  but  slopes  along  the 
face  of  the  bank,  descending  till  the  animal  gains  the  level 
below.  This  wonderful  faculty  necessarily  points  to  a  no  less 
wonderful  organisation,  and  the  columnar  legs  of  the  elephant, 
which  the  ancients  supposed  to  be  without  joints,  are  in  reality 
masterpieces  of  mechanical  contrivance. 

While  walking  or  running,  the  weight  of  the  body  rests  upon 
part  of  the  locomotive  organs,  while  the  other  moves  it  forwards, 
so  that  the  animal  constantly  remains  in  contact  with  the  earth  ; 
but  in  springing  the  body  is  thrown  upwards  into  the  air,  so 
as  to  alight  again  upon  the  ground,  at  a  greater  or  less  distance. 
This  kind  of  motion  is  performed  by  the  sudden  extension 
of  the  hinder  extremities,  after  they  had  been  previously  bent, 
and  the  energy  and  strength  with  which  it  is  executed  naturally 
depends  upon  the  development  of  these  parts.  The  feline  races 
generally  surprise  their  prey  by  suddenly  darting  forth  upon  it 
from  concealment,  like  lightning  from  a  cloud,  and  it  requires 
but  a  single  glance  at  the  anatomical  structure  of  their  powerful 


328  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

hindiegs,  to  show  us  how  well  they  are  adapted  for  throwing 
the  body  forwards  in  a  tremendous  bound.  Thus  the  lion  is  able 
to  make  a  spring  of  thirty  feet,  and  the  tiger  leaps  from  a  still 
greater  distance  upon  the  deer  or  the  antelope  that  comes  within 
his  reach. 

The  chamois  and  the  European  steinbock  or  ibex  are  like- 
wise remarkable  for  their  amazing  dexterity  and  agility  in  leap- 
ing, a  faculty  essential  to  their  existence  among  the  rocks  and 
precipices  of  their  mountain  homes.  Without  any  hesitation 
the  chamois  will  spring  over  crevices  sixteen  or  eighteen  feet 
broad,  and  vault  over  walls  fourteen  feet  high.  If,  when  pur- 
sued by  the  huntsman,  it  is  driven  to  an  abyss,  where  a  leap 
would  be  inevitable  destruction,  it  pauses  for  a  moment,  and 
then,  surmounting  the  fear  which  prompted  it  to  fly  from  its 
persecutor,  suddenly  turns  round  upon  him,  and  retraces  the 
way  by  which  it  came.  The  huntsman  may  then  esteem  himself 
fortunate  if  he  has  time  to  throw  himself  flat  upon  the  ground, 
or  to  hold  fast  to  the  rock  while  the  chamois  dashes  over  him. 

In  the  hare,  which  springs  along  in  successive  leaps  or  bounds 
with  a  proverbial  celerity,  the  hinder  legs  are  considerably 


Skeleton  of  the  Hare. 


longer  than  the  fore ;  and  this  difference  is  still  more  strongly 
marked  in  the  jerboa,  the  jumping  hare  of  the  Cape,  and  the 
kangaroo,  where  the  forefeet  are  so  small  as  to  take  no  part 


THE   SLOTH. 


329 


Jerboa  (Dipus 


whatever  in  the  rapid  progression  of  the  body,  which  solely 
devolves  upon  the  mighty  posterior 
extremities.  How  well  these  are  suited 
for  their  task  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  the  African  jumping  hare,  which 
is  about  the  size  of  a  rabbit,  will 
clear  a  space  of  thirty  feet  at  one 
bound ;  that  the  tiny  jerboa  can 
hardly  be  overtaken  by  a  horse ;  and 
that  the  great  kangaroo  (Halmaturus  giganteus),  although  weigh- 
ing above  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  tires  even  the  grey- 
hound by  the  rapid  repetition  of  its  prodigious  springs. 

While  browsing  on  the  herbage,  the  kangaroo  is  seen  in  a 
crouching  position,  resting  on  its  diminutive  forepaws  as  well  as 
on  its  ponderous  hinder  extremities,  and  hopping  gently  along ; 
but  at  the  least  alarm  it  raises  itself  on  its  hind-legs,  and 
bounding  away  is  soon  out  of  sight. 

What  a  difference  in  the  construction  of  the  sloth,  where  all 
the  vigour  of  the  body  is  concentrated  in  the  long  and  sinewy 


Skeleton  of  the  Sloth. 


arms,  while  the  short  hind-legs  are  but  scantily  developed  I  On 
seeing  the  animal,  when  by  chance  removed  from  its  native 
haunts,  painfully  creeping  along  on  even  ground,  sighing  and 
piteously  moaning,  and  scarcely  advancing  a  few  steps  after 


330  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATUKE. 

hours  of  awkward  toil,  it  might  at  first  sight  be  taken  for  the 
most  wretched  and  ill-formed  of  beings — a  flaw  among  the 
general  beauty  of  the  Creator's  works.  But  this  hasty  judg- 
ment would  soon  be  retracted  on  viewing  it  in  the  trees,  the 
real  seat  of  its  existence,  where  it  moves  and  rests  and  sleeps, 
suspended  from  the  boughs ;  for  then  it  would  at  once  become 
apparent  that  these  strong,  muscular,  and  preposterously  long 
forefeet  are  as  well  adapted  for  this  peculiar  mode  of  life  as 
the  limbs  of  the  springing  kangaroo,  the  burrowing  mole,  the 
swimming  seal,  or  the  flying  bat,  for  their  various  spheres  of 
action.  When  the  sloth  wanders,  it  first  stretches  out  one  of 
its  forepaws  as  far  as  possible,  and  then  the  other ;  drawing  for- 
wards at  the  same  time  its  short  hind-feet,  which  are  armed 
with  similar  strong  crooked  claws,  and  from  the  inverted  posi- 
tion of  their  soles  have  a  power  of  grasping  a  branch  which  no 
other  mammal  possesses.  Thus,  without  any  painful  exertion 
whatever,  it  creeps  or  climbs  along  from  branch  to  branch, 
and  from  tree  to  tree  ;  nor  does  it  ever,  in  the  vast  primeval 
forests  where  it  dwells,  require  to  set  its  foot  on  the  ground ;  so 
that,  although  the  worst  walker  among  all  the  terrestrial  quad- 
rupeds, it  has  as  little  reason  to  complain  of  this  deficiency  as 
the  whale  or  the  dolphin  of  not  being  able  to  bound  over  the 
plain,  or  to  roam  through  the  forest.  The  muscular  power  of 
the  sloth's  forearm  is  so  great  that  the  animal  can  remain 
suspended  for  hours  together  without  moving  its  position, 
expressing  all  the  time  its  satisfaction  by  a  kind  of  purring, 
which  is  surely  no  sign  of  misery. 

The  monkeys  are  also  most  admirable  climbers  but  indifferent 
walkers,  though  in  a  less  degree  than  the  sloth.  Both  their 
hind  and  fore-feet  are  shaped  as  hands,  generally  with  a  thumb 
opposed  to  the  other  fingers  and  toes  in  the  feet  as  well  as  in 
the  hands,  by  which  peculiarity  they  are  enabled  to  grasp  ob- 
jects both  with  their  anterior  and  their  posterior  extremities. 
The  arms  are  generally  longer  and  stronger  than  the  legs,  and 
the  body  slender  and  comparatively  light — a  structure  which, 
though  ill-suited  for  pedestrian  exercise,  is  evidently  in  perfect 
unison  with  the  mode  of  life  of  these  arboreal  creatures,  and 
enables  them  to  bound  with  such  elastic  energy  through  the 
green  canopy  of  the  woods. 

'  When   the    Ceylonese    wanderoos   are    disturbed,'  says   Sir 


THE   SQUIRRELS.  331 

Emerson  Tennent,  'their  leaps  are  prodigious;  but  generally 
speaking,  their  progress  is  made  not  so  much  by  leaping  as  by 
swinging  from  branch  to  branch,  using  their  powerful  arms 
alternately ;  and  when  baffled  by  distance,  flinging  themselves 
obliquely,  so  as  to  catch  the  lower  boughs  of  an  opposite  tree, 
the  momentum  acquired  by  their  descent  being  sufficient  to 
cause  a  rebound  of  the  branch  that  carries  them  upwards  again, 
till  they  can  grasp  a  higher  and  more  distant  one,  and  thus 
continue  their  headlong  flight.  In  these  perilous  achievements, 
wonder  is  excited  less  by  the  surprising  agility  of  these  little 
creatures — frequently  encumbered  as  they  are  by  their  young, 
which  cling  to  them  in  their  career — than  by  the  quickness  of 
their  eye,  and  the  unerring  accuracy  with  which  they  seem 
almost  to  calculate  the  angle  at  which  a  descent  will  enable 
them  to  cover  a  given  distance,  and  the  recoil  to  attain  a  higher 
altitude.' 

The  squirrels,  which  in  the  forests  of  the  temperate  and 
frigid  zones  perform  the  part  of  the  monkeys  in  the  tropical 
woods,  are  likewise  most  admirable  climbers.  They  have  no 
long  arm,  it  is  true,  no  hands  to  seize  the  branches  with  forcible 
grasp,  and  the  trace  of  an  anterior  thumb,  armed  with  a  nail, 
is  the  only  point  of  resemblance  to  remind  one  of  the  simias  of 
the  equatorial  regions ;  but  with  equal  agility  they  tread  the 
mazes  of  their  arboreal  paths,  and  it  is  equally  difficult  to  shoot 
them  when  in  motion.  They  have  been  seen  when  hard- 
pressed,  and  when  the  distance  to  the  next  tree  has  been  beyond 
their  most  extravagant  leaps,  to  throw  themselves  off,  spreading 
abroad  their  limbs,  so  as  to  make  their  body  as  parachute-like 
as  possible  to  break  their  fall ;  and  on  reaching  the  ground 
without  harm,  bound  along  for  the  few  intervening  paces,  and 
ascend  the  tree  with  a  celerity  almost  too  quick  for  the  eye  to 
follow. 

Thus  the  Almighty  has  created  mammalia  of  the  most  dissi- 
milar forms  for  an  arboreal  life,  and  yet,  however  different  their 
organization,  none  can  be  said  to  surpass  the  other,  for  each  of 
them  is  perfect  in  its  kind.  In  the  perennial  foliage  of  the 
tropical  forests  the  sloth  finds  an  abundant  and  never-failing 
supply  of  food,  so  that  he  requires  no  great  agility,  and 
can  well  afford  to  miss  the  faculty  of  leaping  from  tree  to  tree. 
But  the  fruits  of  the  forest  are  more  thinly  scattered — they 


332  THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 

ripen  far  apart  and  at  different  times ;  and  thus  the  monkeys 
and  squirrels  absolutely  required  a  greater  celerity  of  motion,  to 
be  able  to  seek  at  a  greater  distance  the  food  which  the 
exhausted  neighbourhood  no  longer  afforded.  In  this  instance, 
as  throughout  the  whole  of  the  animal  kingdom,  we  therefore 
find  the  mode  of  life  and  the  organization,  the  want  and  the 
means  of  supplying  it,  in  perfect  unison.  The  trees  correspond 
to  their  fourfooted  inhabitants,  and  these  again  to  the  trees  on 
which  they  dwell;  and  the  climbing  sloth,  the  leaping  mon- 
key, and  the  nimble  squirrel,  however  dissimilar  in  form,  prove 
all  alike  that  one  grand  harmonious  idea  pervades  the  woods  and 
every  creature  existing  beneath  their  shades. 

With  regard  to  the  formation  of  the  soles  and  toes,  we  like- 
wise find  in  every  case  the  same  beautiful  adaptation  of  means 
to  end.  In  all  the  burrowing  mammals  the  toes,  as  we  have 
already  observed,  are  provided  with  strong  claws,  which  render 
them  good  service  in  scratching  away  the  earth  through 
which  they  dig  their  way.  These  useful  implements  of 
peaceful  labour  serve  them  also  as  powerful  means  of  defence, 
while  the  feline  races  use  their  claws  as  offensive  weapons,  for- 
midable to  every  creature  that  comes  within  their  reach.  To 
keep  their  sharpness  unimpaired,  and  to  prevent  them  at  the 
same  time  from  impeding  the  animal's  walk,  the  terminal 
phalanx  on  which  the  claw  is  fixed  is  capable  of  being  retracted 
when  in  a  state  of  rest  by  means  of  elastic  ligaments ;  while  a 
strong  flexing  muscle,  subservient  to  the  will,  is  ever  ready  to 
thrust  it  out,  and  consequently  to  protrude  the  talon  whenever 
its  services  are  required. 

This  weapon,  thus  beautifully  constructed  for  action  and  repose, 
with  which  our  tiny  domestic  cat  is  capable  of  inflicting  painful 
wounds,  acquires  in  the  larger  felines  so  prodigious  a  force  that 
the  tiger  will  draw  furrows  five  inches  deep  through  the  flesh 
of  his  victim,  and  the  lion  tear  open  with  one  single  stroke  the 
breast  of  an  antelope. 

The  claws  are  likewise  of  great  assistance  in  climbing.  In 
the  sloth,  where  they  are  very  long,  powerful,  and  recurved, 
they  serve  as  hooks  for  suspending  the  animal  from  the  branches ; 
and  in  the  squirrel,  where  they  are  smaller  and  extremely  sharp, 
they  penetrate  into  the  bark  of  the  trees,  and  thus  secure  the 
nimble  creature  from  falling  as  he  bounds  along.  The  monkey, 


HAND    OP   MAMMALS.  333 

provided  with  four  grasping  hands,  and  frequently  also  with  a  pre- 
hensile tail,  did  not  require  this  accessory  aid — flat  nails  sufficed 
to  give  the  soft  finger-ends  the  solid  support  they  needed ;  and 
it  is  only  in  the  American  squirrel-monkeys,  where  the  fore- 
feet are  not  hands  (as  in  the  other  monkeys)  but  mere  paws,  that 
the  fingers  are  armed  with  claws.  In  the  dog,  the  hare,  and 
several  other  animals,  where  the  claws  are  used  neither  for 


Hand  of   the  Sloth. 

burrowing  nor  climbing,  nor  for  defensive  or  offensive  war- 
fare, they  afford  the  advantage  of  giving  the  feet  a  greater 
steadiness  while  running ;  and  in  the  jerboa,  which  required  a 
particular  contrivance  to  be  able  safely  to  execute  its  enormous 
leap,  we  find,  besides  the  strong  claw  with  which  the  three  toes 
of  the  hind-feet  are  provided,  a  very  small  spur  or  back-toe 
with  its  corresponding  claw,  which  naturally  breaks  the  impetus 
of  the  fall. 

The  cloven  condition  of  the  hoof  in  the  cervine  and  bovine 
races  is  evidently  designed  to  impart  lightness  and  elasticity  to 
the  spring ;  and  in  order  to  give  full  effect  to  such  an  arrange- 
ment, many  species  are  provided  with  a  special  glandular  seba- 
ceous follicle  between  the  toes,  whose  office  is  to  furnish  a 
lubricating  secretion,  calculated  to  prevent  injury  from  friction 
of  the  digits  one  against  the  other.  In  the  stag  and  antelope 
the  hoofs  are  compact  and  vertical,  to  heighten  the  firmness  of 
the  spring  when  bounding  through  weedy  thickets  and  on 
grassy  moors ;  but  in  the  reindeer  the  joints  of  the  tarsal  bone 
admit  of  lateral  expansion,  and  the  front  hoofs  curve  upwards, 
while  the  two  secondary  ones  behind  (which  are  but  slightly 
developed  in  the  fallow-deer  and  others  of  the  same  family)  are 


334  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

prolonged  vertically,  till  in  certain  positions  they  are  capable  of 
being  applied  to  the  ground ;  thus  adding  to  the  circumference 
and  sustaining  power  of  the  foot,  a  structure  which,  by  giving 
the  animal  a  broader  base  to  stand  upon,  prevents  it  from 
sinking  too  deeply  into  the  snow,  and  thus  greatly  facilitates  its 
movements.  A  formation  precisely  analogous  in  the  buffalo 
seems  to  point  to  a  corresponding  design.  The  ox,  whose  life  is 
spent  on  firm  ground,  has  the  bones  of  the  foot  so  constructed 
as  to  afford  the  most  solid  support  to  an  animal  of  its  great 
weight ;  but  in  the  buffalo,  which  delights  in  the  morasses  on 
the  margin  of  pools  and  rivers,  the  foot  has  a  construction 
similar  to  that  of  the  reindeer.  The  toes  spread  apart  widely 
on  touching  the  ground;  the  hoofs  are  flattened  and  broad, 
with  the  extremities  turned  upwards ;  and  the  false  hoofs 
behind  descend,  till  they  make  a  clattering  sound  as  the  animal 
walks. 

The  cloven  form  of  the  hoof  is  attended  with  the  additional 
advantage  of  aiding  the  voluntary  elevation  of  the  foot  when 
it  has  sunk  deeply  into  soft  ground.  'We  may  observe,'  says 
Sir  Charles  Bell,  '  how  much  more  easily  the  cow  withdraws 
her  foot  from  the  yielding  margin  of  a  river  than  the  horse. 
The  round  and  concave  form  of  the  horse's  foot  is  attended 
with  a  vacuum  or  suction  as  it  is  withdrawn,  while  the  split 
and  conical-shaped  hoof  expands  in  sinking,  and  is  easily  ex- 
tricated.' 

The  elastic  sole-pads  with  which  several  of  the  ruminants  are 
furnished  afford  likewise  a  most  striking  example  of  the  adap- 
tation of  structure  to  the  exigencies  of  the  creature.  It  is  this 
formation  which  enables  the  chamois  to  execute  its  prodigious 
leaps  on  a  rocky  ground,  which  would  dash  the  hard  hoof  of  the 
horse  to  pieces,  and  permits  the  camel  to  travel  with  peculiar 
ease  and  security  over  dry,  stony,  and  sandy  regions. 

In  this  animal  the  digits  are  more  or  less  completely  embedded 
in  a  broad  elastic  cushion,  which  extends,  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance laterally,  on  either  side  of  the  foot,  binding  and  fixing  the 
toes  immoveably  together;  while  the  hoofs  are  merely  repre- 
sented by  two  rudimentary  nails,  situated  on  the  dorsal  surface 
of  the  tip  of  each  toe. 

The  llamas  are  similarly  provided  with  a  sole-pad,  but  here 
it  is  double  and  narrow,  each  division  being  limited  to  one  side 


TAIL    OF   MONKEYS.  335 

of  the  cloven  foot ;  while  the  nails,  instead  of  being  weak,  are 
very  powerfully  developed  and  strongly  curved.  The  easy  sepa- 
ration of  the  toes,  combined  with  the  modifications  of  the  pad  and 
hoof  here  referred  to,  is  of  manifest  utility  to  an  animal  whose 
life  is  destined  to  be  spent,  unlike  that  of  his  more  valued  con- 
gener, on  the  rugged  slopes  and  precipices  of  a  mountainous 
district. 

The  tail  of  the  mammalians  likewise  undergoes  many  modi- 
fications of  form,  according  to  the  services  it  is  required  to 
render.  In  many  quadrupeds  it  is  of  stunted  proportions,  or 
even  entirely  wanting,  as  in  the  anthropomorphous  apes — the 
chimpanzee,  the  gorilla,  the  orang,  and  the  gibbons — in  others 
it  serves  as  an  ornament,  or  merely  to  drive  away  or  punish 
troublesome  insects  ;  but  in  many  cases  its  functions  are  of  a 
much  more  important  nature,  or  even  completely  indispensable. 
Thus  the  powerful  prehensile  tail  of  many  of  the  American 
monkeys  is  fully  entitled  to  be  called  a  fifth  hand,  which  emi- 
nently contributes  to  the  celerity  of  their  movements,  and  is 
hardly  less  wonderful  in  its  structure  than  the  proboscis  of  the 
elephant.  Covered  with  short  hair,  and  completely  bare  under- 
neath towards  the  end,  this  admirable  organ  rolls  round  the 
boughs  as  though  it  were  a  supple  finger,  and  is  at  the  same 
time  so  muscular  that  the  monkey  frequently  swings  with  it 
from  a  branch,  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock.  Scarce  has  he 
grasped  a  bough  with  his  long  arms,  when,  immediately  coiling 
his  fifth  hand  round  the  branch,  he  springs  on  to  the  next, 
and,  secure  from  a  fall,  hurries  so  rapidly  through  the  crowns 
of  the  highest  trees  that  the  sportsman's  ball  has  scarcely  time 
to  reach  him  in  his  flight.  When  the  miriki,  the  largest  of 
the  Brazilian  monkeys,  sitting  or  stretched  out  at  full  length, 
suns  himself  on  a  high  branch,  his  tail  suffices  to  support  him  in 
his  aerial  resting-place  ;  and  even 
when  mortally  wounded,  he  remains 
a  long  time  suspended  by  it,  until, 
life  being  quite  extinct,  his  heavy 
body,  breaking  many  a  bough  as  it 
descends,  falls  with  a  loud  crash  to  KinkajoUv?i?S?i1Sptes  caudl" 
the  ground. 

The  coandu  (Cercoleptes  coandu),  a  kind  of  American  porcu- 
pine, and  the  kinkajou  or  potto,  a  mild  inoffensive  plantigrade, 


336  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

both  leading  an  arboreal  life  in  the  forests  of  South  America, 
are  likewise  provided  with  long  prehensile  tails,  which  afford 
them  great  assistance  in  wandering  from  branch  to  branch. 

Among  the  mammals  of  the  Old  World  we  find  the  pos- 
session of  a  prehensile  tail  confined  to  the  phalangers,  a  singular 
genus  of  marsupial  animals,  peculiar  to  Australia  and  the 
adjacent  isles.  These  creatures  lead  an  indolent  retired  life 
in  the  forests,  and  feed  partly  upon  the  fruits  of  trees,  partly 
upon  the  insects  they  manage  to  catch  during  their  nocturnal 
rambles. 

The  tail,  which  in  all  these  cases  renders  such  essential  ser- 
vices in  climbing,  is  so  made  as  to  be  of  great  assistance  to  the 
kangaroos  in  the  performance  of  their  enormous  leaps.  Extremely 
thick  and  muscular  at  the  base,  and  gradually  tapering,  they 
rest  upon  it  when  assuming  an  erect  or  sitting  posture,  and  its 
powerful  action  when  springing  jerks  their  body  into  the  air 
with  a  force  hardly  inferior  to  that  of  their  limbs.  If  the  caudal 
appendage  of  the  American  monkeys  deserves  the  name  of  a 
fifth  hand,  the  tail  of  the  kangaroo  may  thus  well  be  called  a 
third  or  additional  hind-leg. 

In  the  cetaceans  the  tail  is  of  still  greater  importance,  as  here 
it  is  the  chief  organ  of  locomotion.  The  two  horizontal  fins 
which  terminate  the  tail  of  the  Greenland  whale  attain  a  width 
of  twenty-four  feet,  and  cover  a  space  of  two  hundred  square 
feet,  and  these  extraordinary  dimensions  may  serve  to  give  an 
idea  of  the  extraordinary  muscular  power  requisite  to  set  them 
in  motion. 

Among  the  other  mammalia  leading  a  semi-aquatic  or  am- 
phibious life,  the  tail  is  likewise  a  highly  important  locomotive 
organ.  Thus  the  otter,  the  duck-billed  platypus,  the  beaver, 
are  indebted  to  their  long  and  powerful  caudal  appendages  for  a 
great  part  of  their  velocity  in  swimming;  and  although  the 
hind-legs  of  the  seals  chiefly  impel  them  through  the  water,  they 
also  derive  considerable  assistance  from  their  tail. 

The  long-tailed  manis,  a  native  of  Africa,  makes  use  of  this 
organ,  which  is  more  than  twice  as  long  as  the  body,  and  en- 
tirely covered  with  scales,  as  a  covering  or  a  shield  for  its  head, 
neck,  and  back. 

The  East  Indian  perigolin  derives  great  assistance  from  the 
tail  in  reconnoitring,  resting  upon  it  and  its  hind-legs,  and 


THE    PEXGOLIN.  337 

holding  itself  nearly  erect  to  command  a  view  of  its  object.  The 
strength  of  this  appendage,  which  likewise  serves  to  secure  the 
rolled-up  animal  in  a  powerful  fold,  will  be  perceived  from  the 
accompanying  illustration,  which  shows  it  to  be  equal  in  length 


The  Pengolin. 

to  all  the  rest  of  the  body,  whilst  the  vertebrae  which  compose  it 
are  stronger  by  far  than  those  of  the  back. 

A  perfect  forest-vagabond,  the  great  ant-eater  has  no  den  to 
retire  to,  nor  any  fixed  abode  ;  but  his  immense  bushy  tail  ren- 
ders all  other  shelter  unnecessary,  as  it  is  long  enough  to  cover 
his  whole  body.  Serving  him  as  a  tent  during  the  night,  or  as  a 
waterproof  mantle  against  the  heavy  rains  of  the  wet  season,  he 
might  boast,  with  still  greater  justice  than  Diogenes,  of  carrying 
all  he  requires  about  him.  The  tail  is  very  differently  constructed 
in  the  smaller  American  ant-eaters,  who,  leading  an  arboreal  life, 
seek  their  prey  among  the  species  of  ants  that  build  their  nests 
in  the  trees  ;  for,  like  that  of  the  monkeys  of  their  native  forests, 
it  is  long,  short-haired,  and  prehensile. 

The  skin  of  the  mammalians  is  no  less  admirably  adapted 
to  the  peculiarities  of  their  way  of  life  than  the  various  organs 
we  have  hitherto  noticed.  Thus,  in  the  armadillos,  pengolins, 

z 


338  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

and  manides,  who  have  no  other  means  of  defence,  it  is  covered 
with  a  complete  coat-of-mail,  formed  of  transverse  shelly  zones  or 
of  large  imbricated  scales,  while  in  the  porcupine  and  hedgehog 
we  find  it  bristling  for  a  similar  purpose  with  long  sharp  quills 
or  spines.  How  different  the  smooth  oily  skin  of  the  cetaceans, 
who  evidently  required  neither  bristles  nor  scales  to  protect  them, 
and  who  cleave  the  waters  all  the  more  readily  from  the  slippery 
nature  of  their  naked  integuments ! 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  mammalians  are  more  or 
less  thickly  covered  with  hair,  an  excellent  defence  against  the 
inclemencies  of  the  weather.  A  visit  to  a  furrier's  stores  suffices 
to  show  the  variety,  softness,  and  beauty  of  these  hairy  coverings, 
at  whose  sight  we  might  almost  be  tempted  to  complain  of 
Nature's  stepmotherly  neglect  of  man,  to  whom  no  such  mantle 
has  been  given. 

But  when  we  reflect  that  his  manual  skill,  guided  by  a'superior 
reason,  gives  him  every  means  of  making  up  for  this  deficiency, 
and  that  the  necessity  of  providing  himself  with  clothing  is,  in 
reality,  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  civilization,  through  the  sti- 
mulus it  gives  to  his  industry  and  his  inventive  genius,  we  find 
that  we  have  as  little  reason  to  envy  the  fur-clothed  quadruped 
as  the  naked  tropical  savage,  who,  rendered  almost  independent  of 
raiment  or  exertion  by  the  genial  mildness  of  his  skies,  scarcely 
rises  above  the  level  of  the  brutes  with  whom  he  disputes  the 
empire  of  the  primeval  forest  or  the  boundless  savannah. 

The  masticatory  organs  of  the  mammalia  exhibit  as  great  a 
variety  of  structure  as  the  food  on  which  they  live.  Instead  of 
pursuing  the  larger  fishes,  the  whales,  the  giants  of  organic 
creation,  are  satisfied  with  game  of  the  humblest  description — 
crustaceans,  pteropods,  medusae.  Fancy  how  many  millions  of 
these  tiny  worms  must  be  required  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  a 
colossus,  whose  heart  at  every  beat  sends  whole  tons  of  blood 
in  powerful  streams  through  arteries  thicker  than  the  body 
of  a  man !  Kows  of  sharp  teeth  would  evidently  have  been 
unable  to  perform  the  task,  and  thus  we  see  their  place  supplied 
by  plates  of  whalebone  or  baleen,  fixed  in  the  upper  jaw  and 
ranged  side  by  side,  so  as  to  resemble  a  frame  of  saws  in  a  saw- 
mill. Their  interior  edges  are  covered  with  fringes  of  hair,  and 
from  the  palate  are  suspended  many  other  small  laminae  of  the 


THE    ANT-EATER.  339 

thickness  of  a  quill,  a  few  inches  long*,  and  likewise  terminating 
in  a  fringe ;  so  that  the  whole  roof  of  the  vast  mouth  resembles 
a  shaggy  fur,  under  which  lies  the  soft  and  spongy  tongue,  a 
monstrous  mass  often  ten  feet  broad  and  eighteen  feet  long. 
Thus  when  the  whale,  after  having  skimmed  with  open  mouth 
the  surface  of  the  ocean,  closes  the  wide  gates  of  his  prodigious 
jaws,  his  tiny  prey  remains  entangled  by  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  in  a  fringy  thicket,  where  it  is  crushed  and  bruised 
by  the  tongue. 

To  satisfy  a  giant's  appetite,  this  admirable  apparatus  required 
to.be  constructed  on  a  gigantic  scale;  hence  the  enormous 
dimensions  of  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  and  the  seemingly  dis- 
proportionate size  of  the  head,  which  attains  about  a  third  part 
of  the  length  of  the  whole  body,  and  forms  a  case  or  box  well- 
fitted  for  the  reception  of  a  straining  or  filtering  mechanism, 
suited  to  the  wants  of  a  leviathan. 

The  mouth  of  the  great  ant-eater  is  no  less  wonderfully  or- 
ganized for  the  seizure  and  swallowing  of  minute  insects,  which 
paws,  however  sharply  armed  or  however  active  in  their  move- 
ments, could  never  have  captured  in  sufficient  numbers;  and  as  the 
bulky  jaws  of  the  whale  cease  to  appear  uncouth  when  we  come 
to  consider  their  uses,  thus  also  the  snoutlike  elongation  of  the 
ant-eater's  diminutive  head  no  longer  seems  preposterous  when 
once  we  know  that  this  singular  form  is  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  strange  animal's 
mode  of  life.  Here  no  spa- 
cious cavity  was  required 
for  the  reception  of  two 

rOWS   Of  powerful    teeth    Or  Head  of  the  Ant-Eater. 

of  a  large  filtering  appa- 
ratus, but  a  mere  furrow  for  a  long  and  extensile  tongue, 
which  renders  all  other  instruments  for  seizing  its  prey  super- 
fluous— as  we  find  on  following  the  animal  into  the  Brazilian 
savannahs,  where  the  cities  of  the  white-ants  are  dispersed  in 
such  vast  numbers.  Approaching  one  of  these  wonderful 
structures,  the  ant-eater  strikes  a  hole  through  its  wall  of 
clay  with  his  powerful  claws ;  and  as  the  ants  issue  forth  by 
thousands  to  resent  the  attack,  stretches  but  his  tongue  for 
their  reception.  Their  legions,  eager  for  revenge,  immediately 

z  2 


340  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

rush  upon  it,  and,  vainly  endeavouring  to  pierce  its  thick 
skin  with  their  mandibles,  remain  sticking  in  the  glutinous 
liquid  with  which  it  is  lubricated  from  two  very  large  glands 
situated  below  its  root.  When  sufficiently  charged  with  prey, 
the  ant-eater  suddenly  withdraws  his  tongue,  and  swallows  the 
poor  victims  of  an  impotent  fury. 

The  duck-billed  platypus  has  likewise  a  singular  tooth- 
less mouth,  which  very  much  resembles  the  flat  and  sensitive 
bill  of  a  lamellirostral  bird  ;  but  this  strange  anomaly  of  form 
and  structure  entirely  harmonises  with  the  animal's  food,  as  it 
subsists  on  aquatic  insects,  larvae,  molluscs,  and  other  small 
invertebrates,  which  conceal  themselves  in  the  mud  and  banks  of 
rivers,  where  its  flattened  beak  well  knows  how  to  find  them. 

The  want  of  teeth,  or  the  possession  of  mere  dental  rudiments, 
is,  however,  confined  but  to  a  small  number  of  the  mammalia, 
for  these  organs  are  as  necessary  to  the  carnivora  in  tearing 
their  prey  as  to  the  herbivorous  quadrupeds  in  chewing,  grinding, 
or  gnawing  their  vegetable  food ;  and  so  perfectly  are  they 
in  every  case  adapted  to  the  peculiar  wants  of  their  possessor, 
that  a  naturalist  need  only  view  the  teeth  of  a  quadruped  to 
know  at  once  upon  what  it  feeds. 

Thus  in  all  the  carnivora  we  find  the  incisor  teeth  only  mo- 
derately developed,  while  the 
canine  teeth  are  large,  strong, 
and  pointed,  well-formed  for  firmly 
seizing  and  planting  themselves 
deeply  into  the  flesh  of  their 
victims.  The  molar  teeth  situated 

Dentition  of  Bear.  behind   these    formidable  instru- 

^  ments  of  destruction  are  of  three 

naasial.    e  tuberculate  or  true  molars.          kindfl  .     ^^    wMch    immediately 

follow  the  canines  (false  molars)  being  more  or  less  pointed ;  the 
next,  or  the  carnassial  tooth,  being  specially  adapted  for  divid- 
ing and  lacerating  animal  muscle  by  the  sharp  edge  of  its 
summit,  while  the  last  or  hindmost  are  more  or  less  rounded  or 
tuberculated. 

The  proportions  which  these  different  classes  of  molar  teeth 
bear  to  each  other  in  degree  and  development,  accord  with  the 
relative  carnivorous  propensity  of  the  different  families.  Thus 
in  the  cats  the  canine  teeth  are  preeminently  strong,  long,  and 


TEETH    OF    MAMMALIA.  34 1 

sharp,  and  are  evidently  adapted  for  seizing  and  holding  their 
prey,  and  afterwards  tearing  in  pieces  the  flesh  and  other  soft 
parts  of  the  animals.  The  conical  and  very  slightly-curved 
form  of  these  teeth,  united  with  their  sharpness  and  strength,  is 
the  best  that  can  be  imagined  for  effecting  this  object.  The 


Tentition  of  Cat. 

cheek-teeth  have  for  the  most  part  only  cutting  edges,  and 
those  of  the  lower  jaw  shut  within  the  upper,  passing  them  so 
closely  as  to  form  an  accurate  instrument  either  for  shearing  off 
pieces  from  the  flesh,  or  for  subdividing  the  portions  which  have 
been  torn  by  the  canine  teeth.  On  each  of  them  are  sharp 
triangular  processes,  which  greatly  facilitate  the  entrance  of  the 
tooth  into  the  flesh.  The  range  of  these  teeth  is  short,  as  is 
also  the  whole  jaw,  by  which  great  power  is  gained  in  this  par- 
ticular direction.  The  articulation  of  the  lower  jaw  is  also  cir- 
cumscribed to  a  perpendicular  motion,  the  only  one  which  the 
structure  of  the  teeth  would  permit;  and  the  masticatory  muscles 
are  of  enormous  size  and  strength,  particularly  in  the  hysena,  to 
enable  these  ignoble  violators  of  the  grave  to  crush  the  bone  and 
cartilages  which  form  a  considerable  part  of  their  bill-of-fare. 

The  animals  of  the  bear  tribe  on  the  other  hand,  whose  diet 
is  chiefly  of  a  vegetable  nature,  have  an  elongated  jaw,  canine 
teeth  very  large  and  strong,  yet  less  so  than  in  the  cats,  and 
molar  teeth  the  surfaces  of  which  instead  of  being  raised  into 
cutting  edges  are  depressed,  tuberculated,  and  require  a  certain 
degree  of  lateral  motion  in  the  jaw  to  bring  them  into  action. 

In  the  seals  a  very  different  structure  of  the  teeth  is  observed. 
The  canines  are  not  particularly  large  and  prominent,  as  there 
are  no  hard  substances  to  be  cut  or  broken,  and  the  molar 


342 


THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 


Dentition  of  Seal. 


Dentition  of  a  Rodent. 


teeth — adapted  neither  for  shearing  on  the  one  hand,  nor  on 
the  other  for  grinding  their  food,  either  of  which  actions 

would  be  unavailable  in 
their  particular  case  —  are 
numerous,  and  furnished 
with  several  angular  points 
extremely  well-fitted  for 
holding  the  slippery  scaly 
surface  of  fish,  and  equally 
so  for  crushing  them  be- 
fore they  are  swallowed. 

The  peculiar  food  of  the  rodents,  which  generally  consists  of 
hard  vegetable  substances,  naturally  required  a  very  different 

dentition.  Here  the  canine  teeth, 
which  would  have  been  worse  than 
useless,  are  suppressed  ;  while  the 
incisors,  which  play  a  very  im- 
portant part,  are  converted  into 
powerful  chisels.  Their  confor- 
mation is  beautifully  adapted  to 
the  purpose  they  have  to  fulfil: 

they  are  required  to  have  a  sharp  edge,  in  order  to  make 
their  way  through  tough  vegetable  substances,  and  they  must 
at  the  same  time  be  very  strong  and  firm  ;  this  is  effected  by 
the  principal  substance  of  the  tooth  being  composed  of  very 
tough  ivory,  with  a  plate  of  hard  enamel  in  front  only,  which 
latter,  wearing  away  more  slowly,  is  always  left  as  a  sharp  pro- 
jecting edge.  The  molar  teeth,  which  are  separated  from  the 
incisors  by  a  wide  interval,  are  composed  of  alternate  plates 
of  enamel  and  ivory,  which,  wearing  unequally,  stand  up 
in  ridges,  and  give  them  a  rasplike  surface.  The  ridges  are 
always  transverse,  or  in  a  direction  from  side  to  side  of  the  head ; 
and  as  the  jaw  has  considerable  facility  of  moving  backwards 
and  forwards,  it  greatly  increases  the  power  of  trituration.  In 
the  frugivorous  species  of  the  order,  however,  the  surface  of  the 
molar  teeth  is  raised  into  rounded  tubercles — as  in  the  squirrel, 
for  instance ;  whilst  in  those  animals  which  have  any  carnivorous 
tendency  (as  in  the  rat),  they  are  raised  into  sharp  points,  thus 
bearing  some  resemblance  to  tHose  quadrupeds  which  are  wholly 
carnivorous. 


CRANIUM    OF    THE    SHEEP. 


343 


The  ruminants,  who  principally  live  on  green  leaves  or  tender 
shoots,  naturally  required  a  very  different  dentition  from  that 


Skull  of  the  Sheep,  viewed  laterally. 


of  the  rodents,  who  have  been  specially  appointed  to  devour  the 
hardest  substances,  generally  living  upon  the  wood  and  bark  of 
trees,  as  well  as  upon  nuts  and  other  shelled  fruits.  Here  the 
lower  jaw  only  is  provided  with  six  shovel-formed  incisors,  pro- 
jecting almost  horizontally,  and  pressing  against  the  upper  jaw,- 


Base  of  the  Cranium  of  the  Sheep. 


Lower  Jaw  of  the  Sheep. 


which  in  nearly  all  cases  is  destitute  of  incisor  teeth  ;  their  place 
being  supplied  by  a  kind  of  callous  pad,  a  formation  exceedingly 


344  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

well  adapted  for  plucking  or  nibbling  the  herbage.  The  canines  are 
inconstant,  and  the  molars,  usually  six  on  each  side  of  both  j  awe, 
have  flattened  crowns  surmounted  by  two  double  and  irregularly 
crescentic  folds  of  enamel,  formed  for  affording  the  greatest  pos- 
sible extent  of  triturating  surface.  The  lower  jaw  of  the  ruminants 
is  not  so  broad  as  the  upper  one  (as  we  see  in  the  accompanying 
illustration),  so  that  the  surfaces  of  the  upper  molars  project  on 
both  sides  beyond  those  of  the  corresponding  inferior  rows  ;  but 
both  have  been  made  to  cover  each  other  by  the  alternating 
lateral  movements  of  the  lower  jaw  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  a 
motion  as  admirably  calculated  for  assisting  the  grinding  or 
triturating  process,  as  the  hingelike  and  vertical  motion  of  the 
lower  jaw  of  the  carnivora  for  shearing  or  cutting. 

Several  mammals  are  distinguished  by  the  enormous  develop 
ment  of  their  canine  teeth.     Thus  in  the  walrus  they  constitute 
formidable  weapons  of  defence,  and  no  less  useful  levers  with 
which  the  unwieldy  animal  raises  his  huge  body  upon  the  ice- 
blocks  and  precipitous  shores  where  he  loves  to  bask  in  the  sun. 
The  long  curved  and  sharp  tusks  of  the  wild-boar  are  capable 
of  inflicting   the  most  severe  and  painful   wounds,  and  serve 
likewise  for  the  digging-up  of  roots.     In  the  narwhal  only  one 
of  the  upper  canines  projects  in  the  shape  of  a  formidable  horn, 

while  the  other  remains  in  a 
rudimentary  condition.  This 
horn,  which  is  harder  and 
whiter  than  ivory,  is  from  six 
to  ten  feet  long,  spirally 
striated  throughout  its  whole 
length,  and  tapering  to  a  point. 
We  know  but  little  of  the  habits  of  the  narwhal, 
but  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  power- 
ful horn,  which  is  restricted  to  the  males,  is 
an  admirable  weapon  of  defence.  The  upper 
incisors  of  the  elephant,  developed  to  an  extra- 
ordinary size,  form  the  tusks  of  this  wonder- 
ful animal,  and  not  only  surpass  other  teeth  in 
size,  as  belonging  to  a  quadruped  so  enormous, 
Tusks  of  wahus.  hllt  are  fae  largest  of  all  teeth,  in  proportion  to 
the  size  of  the  body.  Their  possessor  uses  them  for  plough- 
ing up  the  earth  in  quest  of  nutritious  roots,  or  as  a  protection 


STOMACH    OF   THE   SHEEP.  345 

for  his  trunk,  which  when  menaced  he  retracts  between  them, 
employing  them  at  the  same  time  to  repel  an  aggressor.  Thus 
in  every  deviation  from  the  ordinary  forms  of  dentition,  we 
find  that  the  attainment  of  some  useful  purpose  was  in  view. 

An  examination  of  the  digestive  organs  of  the  several  orders 
of  the  mammalia,  shows  that  in  every  case  they  are  no  less 
beautifully  adapted  to  the  peculiar  food  of  the  animal  than  the 
construction  of  the  dental  apparatus.  The  carnivora  feeding 
on  aliment  which  requires  but  little  elaboration  to  convert  it 
into  nourishment,  the  whole  process  of  digestion  appears  to  be 
as  rapid  as  possible,  the  stomach  is  simple  and  almost  straight, 
the  intestines  short,  and  without  any  structure  to  retard  the 
passage  of  the  food.  The  ruminants,  on  the  contrary,  living  on 
crude  vegetable  matters,  containing  but  a  small  quantity  of  nu- 
tritious particles  in  proportion  to  their  bulk,  required  a  far  more 
complicated  alimentary  canal  for  the  elaboration  of  their  food. 


Composite  Stomach  of  the  Sheep. 
«  oesophagus.       /  duodenum. 

Here,  therefore,  the  stomach  consists  not  of  one  but  of  four 
distinct  cavities.  The  first  compartment,  or  paunch  (6),  is  the 
largest  of  the  four  stomachs,  and  in  the  typical  species,  such  as 
the  sheep  or  ox,  its  internal  surface  is  densely  beset  with  pro- 
minent and  pedunculated  villosities.  The  second  stomachal 
viscus,  or  the  reticulum  (c),  is  of  much  smaller  dimensions  than 
the  paunch,  and  forms  a  kind  of  cul-de-sac  between  it  and  the 
third  cavity.  It  is  distinguished  internally  by  the  presence  of 
a  multitude  of  polygonal  cells,  and  from  this  circumstance  has 
been  vulgarly  denominated  the  honeycomb  bag. 


346  THE    HARMONIES  OF   NATURE. 

The  third  stomach,  commonly  called  the psalterium  or  many- 
plies  (d)9  owes  its  name  to  the  remarkable  folding  of  its  internal 
lining,  the  duplicatures  of  which  resemble  the  leaves  of  a  book. 

The  fourth  stomach,  technically  termed  the  reed  or  abomasus 
(e\  secretes  the  gastric  juice,  and  is  thus  analogous  to  the  simple 
stomach  of  the  non-ruminating  quadrupeds. 

The  three  first  stomachs  communicate  directly  with  the 
oesophagus  by  an  elongated  channel  or  groove,  whose  margins 
when  distended  open  into  the  paunch  and  reticulum,  but 
otherwise  form  a  tube  leading  along  the  superior  part  of  the 
reticulum  to  the  psalterium,  which  in  its  turn  communicates 
with  the  fourth  stomach. 

The  food,  coarsely  divided  by  a  first  mastication,  accumulates 
in  the  paunch,  where  it  undergoes  a  prolonged  maceration. 
This  process  is  continued  in  the  second  stomach,  whose  con- 
tractions force  it  back  again  into  the  mouth  ;  and  it  is  only 
after  having  been  chewed  a  second  time,  or  ruminated,  that  it 
penetrates  into  the  manyplies,  and  thence  into  the  fourth 
stomach,  which  is  the  real  seat  of  digestion.  At  first  sight  it 
seems  so  astonishing  that  the  aliments  should  thus  enter  the 
first  or  the  third  stomach,  according  as  they  are  swallowed 
for  the  first  or  the  second  time,  that  one  might  be  inclined  to 
attribute  the  phenomenon  to  a  kind  of  intelligent  selection 
possessed  by  the  openings  of  the  various  paunches ;  but  the 
anatomical  structure  of  the  parts  explains  the  mystery  in  a  far 
more  simple  and  satisfactory  manner.  When  the  animal  swal- 
lows coarse  and  bulky  aliments,  such  as  those  which  form  its 
usual  food,  the  bolus,  on  arriving  at  the  point  where  the  oeso- 
phagus begins  to  form  the  muscular  channel  above  mentioned, 
mechanically  distends  the  lips  of  the  groove,  and  drops  at  once 
into  the  paunch.  But  when  the  animal  swallows  smaller  quan- 
tities of  semifluid  aliments,  such  as  those  which  have  undergone 
the  process  of  rumination,  their  pressure  does  not  suffice  to 
open  the  margins  of  the  ossophageal  groove,  which  consequently, 
retaining  the  form  of  a  tube,  conveys  them  at  once  into  the 
third  stomach. 

The  structure  of  the  intestines  of  the  ruminants  corresponds 
with  the  complex  arrangement  of  the  stomach,  for  they  are  ex- 
ceedingly long  (in  the  ram  twenty-eight  times  the  length  of  the 
body),  very  large,  and  tucked  up  into  folds  and  sacks  throughout 


PAUNCH    OF   THE    CAMEL.  347 

their  whole  length.  Thus  in  the  digestive  organs  of  the  rumi- 
nants everything  is  most  beautifully  arranged  for  the  thorough 
comminution  and  maceration  of  the  food,  and  for  the  greatest 
possible  retardation  of  its  passage  through  the  body,  as  well  as 
for  an  immense  extent  of  absorbing  surface  for  the  extraction  of 
every  particle  of  the  nutritious  matter  it  contains. 

In  the  camel  the  organization  of  the  paunch  differs  very  ma- 
terially from  that  of  the  ordinary  ruminant,  as  its  internal  surface 
is  subdivided  into  numer- 
ous  small    pouches,   spe- 
cially fitted  for  the  recep- 
tion and  retention  of  water. 
The    apertures    of    these 
cells,    which  have    some- 
times a  depth  and  width 
of  three  inches,  are  nar- 
row, and  closed  by  strong 
muscular     sphincters,    so 
as  to  form  little  cisterns 
capable  of  guarding  their        Water.cell3  in  the  gtomacb  of  the  Camel.  ' 
contents  for  a  lengthened 

period.  It  is  this  apparatus  which  enables  the  camel  to  abstain 
from  drinking  for  seven  or  eight  days  together  without  injury, 
and  to  render  those  invaluable  services  to  the  Eastern  merchant 
which  have  procured  it  the'  well-earned  and  significant  name  of 
the  'ship  of  the  desert.'  Had  its  stomach  been  differently 
formed,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  caravan-trade  of  North 
Africa  and  Syria,  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  a  not  inconsider- 
able portion  of  the  human  race  depends,  could  never  have 
existed.  Thus  the  structure  of  the  camel's  stomach  has  not 
only  a  reference  to  the  animal's  individual  wants,  but  also  to 
those  of  man  who  uses  its  services ;  and  surely  this  harmony 
between  the  various  actors  on  the  stage  of  desert-life  must  con- 
vince every  unprejudiced  truth-seeker  that  it  is  founded  upon 
a  grand  and  uniform  plan,  in  which  nothing  has  been  left 
to  chance,  but  every  detail  poised  and  arranged  by  Divine 
Wisdom  ! 

The  camel  is  not  only  provided  with  water  for  his  long 
desert-voyages,  but  also  with  liberal  stores  of  fat,  which  are 
chiefly  accumulated  in  the  hump,  so  that  this  prominence,  which 


348 


THE   HARMONIES   OP   NATURE. 


gives  it  so  deformed  an  appearance,  is  in  reality  of  the  highest 
utility  ;  for  should  food  be  scarce — and  this  is  almost  always  the 
case  while  journeying  through  the  desert — internal  absorption 
makes  up  for  the  deficiency,  and  enables  the  camel  to  brave  for 
some  time  longer  the  fatigues  of  the  naked  waste. 

The  cam  elides  of  the  New  World  (the  llamas)  have  a  stomach 
similarly  formed  to  that  of  the  dromedary  of  the  East,  though 
the  pouches  are  more  feebly  indicated ;  and  the  left  end  of  that 
of  the  elephant  is  likewise  adapted  by  several  wide  folds  of 
lining-membrane  to  serve  as  a  receiver  of  water.  This  division 
is  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  contain  ten  gallons,  and  by  means 
of  a  valve  formed  by  the  fold  nearest  the  orifice  can  be  shut  off 
from  the  chamber  devoted  to  the  process  of  digestion.  By  this 
arrangement,  which  surely  must  be  regarded  as  more  than  a 


Stomach  of  Elephant. 

common  coincidence,  the  elephant,  like  the  camel  and  the 
llama,  is  enabled  to  traverse  arid  regions  in  the  service  of  man. 

The  structure  of  the  tongue  undergoes  considerable  modifica- 
tions according  to  the  habits  and  kind  of  aliment  of  the  various 
mammalia. 

The  way  in  which  the  great  ant-eater  uses  his  long  and  exten- 
sile lingual  organ  to  entrap  his  multitudinous  prey  has  already 
been  noticed ;  but  all  the  other  quadrupeds  that  feed  on  ants, 
such  as  the  Asiatic  manides,  the  American  armadillos,  the 
Australian  echidna,  and  the  African  aardvark,  are  similarly 
equipped.  Thus  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  we  find  the 
same  peculiar  formation  of  the  tongue  corresponding  to  an  an- 


THE   TONGUE    OF   BATS.  349 

alogous  food;  and  as  a  considerable  adhesiveness  of  this  organ  was 
absolutely  indispensable  for  the  securing  of  the  prey,  the  secretion 
of  a  glutinous  mucus  destined  to  cover  its  surface  has  in  every 
case  been  amply  provided  for.  Thus  two  enormous  glands  are 
situated  below  the  retractor  muscles  of  the  echidna's  tongue,  and 
the  base  of  that  of  the  pengolin  is  surrounded  by  a  gland 
almost  as  long  as  the  neck.  This  wonderful  uniformity  of 
structure  in  animals  not  only  separated  from  each  other  by 
such  vast  tracts  of  sea  and  land,  but  belonging  to  different 
orders  and  only  resembling  each  other  in  their  food,  must 
surely  convince  every  one  that  they  all  proceed  from  the  same 
Master  Hand  ! 

The  graceful  giraffe  is  likewise  provided  with  a  very  long  ex- 
tensile tongue,  but  for  a  very  different  purpose,  as  it  is  used  to 
grasp  and  hook  down  the  branches  of  the  prickly  acacia  or 
camel's- thorn,  which  constitute  the  animal's  chief  food.  The 
better  to  lay  hold  of  the  tender  shoots,  the  surface  of  this  pre- 
hensile organ  is  as  rough  as  that  of  a  rasp,  while  a  glutinous 
covering,  like  that  of  the  ant-eater's  tongue,  would,  moreover, 
have  been  a  great  hindrance  to  the  mastication  of  vegetable  food. 
Thus,  wherever  we  look  throughout  the  domains  of  Nature,  we 
find  instances  of  an  admirable  prevision  extending  to  the 
minutest  details,  while  there  is  not  a  single  work  of  the  human 
hand  so  perfect  but  that  a  sharp  critic's  eye  may  not  discover 
numerous  faults  in  its  structure  or  conception ! 

In  the  phyllostomas,  a  tropical  genus  of  bats,  the  tongue 
presents  a  peculiarity  which  is  worthy  of  being  particularly  noted. 
It  consists  of  a  number  of  wartlike  elevations,  so  arranged  as  to 
form  a  complete  circular  suctorial  disk  when  they  are  brought 
into  contact  at  their  sides,  which  is  done  by  means  of  a  set  of 
muscular  fibres  having  a  tendon  attached  to  each  of  the  warts. 
By  means  of  this  curious  sucker  these  bats  are  enabled  to  suck 
the  blood  of  animals  and  the  juice  of  succulent  fruits,  their  little 
sharp  teeth  having  first  made  a  slight  incision  in  the  skin  or 
rind  they  have  selected  for  their  operations. 

In  some  other  tropical  bats  the  horny  tip  of  the  long  and 
extensile  tongue  is  provided  with  barbed  bristles,  probably  for 
the  purpose  of  extracting  the  insects  on  which  they  feed  out  of 
otherwise  inaccessible  crevices'. 

While  grazing,  the  rough  tongue  of  the  ruminants  presses  the 


350       .  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

grass  against  the  horny  pad  in  the  front  part  of  the  upper  jaw, 
upon  which  the  incisors  of  the  under-jaw  perform  their  part ; 
the  sharp  tongue  of  the  felidse  is  furnished  with  rough  horny 
papillae  directed  backwards  (these  serve  a  very  important  pur- 
pose in  enabling  the  animal  to  scrape  off  the  minute  particles 
of  flesh  adhering  to  the  bones  of  its  prey)  ;  and,  finally,  the 
enormous  soft  tongue  of  the  Greenland  whale  fulfils  most  ad- 
mirably the  office  of  crushing  the  numberless  crustaceans  or 
pteropods  that  remain  entangled  in  the  fringes  of  the  baleen. 

The  tongue  of  the  mammalians  is  generally  endowed  with  a 
wonderful  delicacy  of  feeling.  This  enables  it  to  detect  any 
extraneous  matter — a  piece  of  bone  or  stone — that  may  have 
been  mixed  with  the  food,  and  thus  it  resembles  a  trusty  door- 
keeper, whose  watchful  attention  prevents  any  unwelcome  or 
dangerous  visitor  from  entering  the  mansion  confided  to  his  care. 

Several  of  the  mammalia  have  received  a  most  useful  gift  in 
a  pair  of  large  cheek-pouches,  serving  as  provisional  storerooms. 
The  monkeys  of  the  New  World,  luxuriating  in  the  exu- 
berant plenty  of  the  boundless  primeval  forest,  do  not  possess 
them ;  but  they  are  frequent  among  the  African  monkeys — an 
organization  which  evidently  indicates  a  home  where  fruit  is 
less  abundant  or  more  thinly  scattered,  and  advantage  must  be 
taken  of  a  favourable  opportunity  for  securing  the  supply  of  a 
future  repast. 

The  cheek-pouches  of  the  hamster  are  a  great  convenience 
to  this  destructive  animal  for  carrying  home  its  winter-provisions. 
They  form  two  enormous  sacks,  extending  from  the  cheeks  to 
the  shoulders,  between  the  skin  and  the  muscles  of  the  neck, 
and  when  filled  give  the  head  a  monstrously  swollen  appearance. 
They  will  contain  each  about  a  thousand  grains  of  wheat  or  rye, 
and  the  hamster  has  merely  to  draw  the  ears  of  corn  through 
his  rnouth  to  fill  them,  while  they  can  be  emptied  with  equal 
facility  by  pressing  them  with  the  forepaws. 

The  senses  of  the  mammalia  are  developed  in  very  different 
degrees,  but  everywhere  in  perfect  accordance  with  their  indivi- 
dual wants.  Thus  the  carnivora,  who  are  generally  destined  to 
live  upon  a  cautious,  vigilant,  and  active  prey,  possess  a  very 
keen  sight,  and  even  more  so  by  night  than  by  day ;  their  power 
of  hearing  is  delicate,  while  they  also  smell  their  victims  with 
incredible  acuteness. 


VISION    OF   RUMINATING   ANIMALS. 


351 


To  balance  these  advantages  of  attack,  the  stags,  the  antelopes, 
the  bisons,  and  other  ruminants  are  equally  well  equipped  for 
defensive  warfare.  Their  eyes  are  placed  at  the  side  of  the 
head,  so  that  their  range  of  vision  is  greatly  extended.  The 
ears  also  are  placed  far  back,  and  are  very  moveable,  so  that 
they  can  be  turned  to  catch  sounds  in  any  direction,  and  their 
sense  of  smell  enables  them  to  detect  the  lurking  enemy  from  a 
considerable  distance. 

Compared  with  these  sharp  and  farsighted  denizens  of  the 
forest  and  the  mead,  the  mole,  whose  eyes  are  so  very  minute 
and  well  concealed  by  its  fur  that  popular  opinion  supposes  it 
to  be  entirely  deficient  in  these  important  organs,  seems  to  be 
but  ill  provided  for ;  but  its  limited  powers  of  vision  perfectly 
agree  with  its  subterranean  life  ;  and  when  during  the  summer 
months  it  sallies  forth  in  quest  of  nocturnal  prey  (such  as  birds, 
mice,  frogs,  and  snails),  its  eyes,  which  are  furnished  with  a 
muscle  that  enables  the  animal  to  withdraw  or  to  employ  them 
as  circumstances  may  prompt,  render  it  all  the  services  it  requires. 
Though  it  has  no  external  ears,  as  these  would  very  soon  be 
choked  up  with  earth,  yet  it  is  amply  provided  with  the  means 
both  of  hearing  and  smelling — senses  which,  in  its  peculiar  situa- 
tion, are  of  far  more  importance  than  sight. 

The  Slepetz  (Spalax  typhlus),  a  small  subterranean  rodent 


Spalax  typhlus. 


of  Eastern  Europe,  is  even  totally  deprived  of  vision,  as  its  rudi- 
mentary eyes,  scarcely  larger  than  a  pin's  head,  are  completely 
covered  with  the  skin,  and  hence  we  may  infer  that  this  deter- 
mined burro wer  hardly  ever  leaves  his  underground  domains. 
The  most  acute  sense  of  the  chamois  is,  beyond  all  doubt, 


352  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

that  of  smelling.  From  a  surprising  distance  these  swift-footed 
ruminants  of  the  Alpine  world  scent  the  huntsman  standing  in 
the  wind,  both  at  the  same  elevation  as  themselves  and  from 
the  lower  regions,  as  the  warmer  air-currents  ascending  from 
the  deeper  valleys  bring  along  with  them  the  emanations  of  man. 
Then,  at  this  first  symptom  of  danger,  every  sense  is  exerted  to 
the  utmost  to  find  out  the  exact  spot  of  impending  peril.  They 
restlessly  hurry  to  and  fro,  or,  anxiously  on  the  watch,  huddle 
together  with  far-outstretched  necks.  The  ear  and  the  eye  strive 
to  emulate  the  distended  nostrils.  When  at  length  the  chamois 
espy  their  enemy,  they  are  more  calm ;  while  as  long  as  they 
merely  scent  without  seeing  him,  their  agitation  is  excessive, 
from  not  knowing  where  to  direct  their  flight.  While  the 
huntsman  remains  motionless,  they  likewise  stand  still,  eyeing 
him  all  the  time  with  the  keenest  attention ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
moves,  they  dart  away  with  arrowy  speed. 

The  scent  of  the  dog  is  likewise  of  wonderful  acuteness,  and 
perhaps  unrivalled  among  the  quadrupeds.  It  directs,  as  it  were, 
all  his  actions,  and  renders  his  services  invaluable  to  the  hunts- 
man ;  for,  with  the  assistance  of  this  unerring  guide,  the  dog 
smells  the  emanations  of  the  game,  which  totally  escape  the 
grosser  human  sense,  and  follows  exactly  the  path  the  object  of 
his  pursuit  has  taken.  By  means  of  his  scent  he  knows  how  to 
find  out  his  master  among  thousands,  and  to  trace  him  for  miles. 
It  is,  in  one  word,  the  most  perfect  of  his  senses  ;  for,  though  he 
can  hear  well,  his  eyesight  is  not  remarkably  good.  The  internal 
structure  of  his  nose  gives  his  scent  this  extraordinary  sharpness, 
as  the  convolutions  of  its  cavity,  which  the  air  traverses  in  the  act 
of  inspiration,  are  exceedingly  complicated,  and  it  moreover 
branches  out  into  sinuses  or  hollows  of  considerable  extent,  so 
that  the  olfactory  nerves  spread  over  a  vast  surface. 

The  kangaroo  and  the  bison  are  indebted  for  many  a  timely 
warning  to  the  great  acuteness  of  their  scent ;  and  the  thirsty 
camel,  well  nigh  sinking  under  the  weight  of  his  privations  on 
his  long  march  through  the  sandy  desert,  frequently  detects  by 
its  means  the  distant  stream  or  fountain.  Then  new  vigour 
animates  his  weary  limbs,  with  distended  nostrils  he  sniffs  the 
air,  and,  hastily  rushing  to  the  spot,  quaffs  in  long  draughts  the 
refreshing  waters. 

In  other  quadrupeds  the  sense  of  feeling  is  particularly  acute. 


THE  SENSE    OF    FEELING.  353 

The  thick  skin  of  the  elephant  is  indeed  far  from  being  distin- 
guished in  this  respect,  nor  has  he  reason  to  regret  its  obtuse  - 
ness  while  roaming  through  the  thickets;  but  the  termination  of 
his  long  hollow  trunk  is  endowed  with  an  exquisite  delicacy  of 
touch,  so  that  by  means  of  this  wonderful  organ,  which  combines 
a  giant's  strength  with  the  flexibility  of  a  willow-wand,  he  is  able 
not  only  to  uproot  trees  and  to  raise  prodigious  weights,  but 
pick  up  the  minutest  objects  from  the  ground.  Its  length  supplies 
the  place  of  a  long  neck,  which  would  have  been  incompatible 
with  the  support  of  the  large  head  and  its  weighty  tusks ;  he 
makes  use  of  it  as  efficiently  as  a  hand  in  the  performance  of 
many  important  offices ;  it  pumps  up  the  enormous  draughts  of 
water,  which,  by  its  recurvature,  are  turned  into  and  driven  down 
the  capacious  throat,  or  spouted  in  refreshing  showers  over  the 
body  ;  it  serves  him  to  strike  down  the  assaulting  tiger  with  one 
tremendous  blow,  or  to  raise  with  delicate  attention  a  child 
upon  his  back;  and,  to  sum  up  its  capabilities  in  one  word,  it 
combines  every  function  and  renders  every  assistance  which  the 
intelligent  elephant  required  to  raise  himself  above  the  level  of 
the  brutal  rhinoceros  or  the  stupid  hippopotamus. 

The  long  whiskers  of  the  felidae  are  delicate  organs  of  the  sense 
of  feeling;  but  those  of  the  shrews  even  surpass  them  in  sensi- 
tiveness of  touch,  and  seem  to  make  amends  to  these  active  little 
creatures  for  the  smallness  of  their  eyes,  which  are  almost  hid- 
den in  the  surrounding  hairs,  and  formed  but  for  twilight  vision. 
Thus  armed,  they  feel  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  nine  inches  the 
slightest  motion  of  the  air,  and  the  mere  bending  of  a  finger 
held  out  to  them  unseen  suffices  to  alarm  them.  The  utmost 
delicacy  of  touch,  so  as  almost  to  reach  the  limits  of  credibility, 
is  however  possessed  by  the  bats,  who  need  no  collision  with 
any  object  to  be  advertised  of  its  vicinity,  but  in  the  midst  of 
darkness  avoid  any  object  that  presents  itself  with  the  same 
unerring  certainty  as  in  the  light. 

Spallanzani, having  observed  this  wonderful  power,  instituted  a 
series  of  experiments,  the  results  of  which  proved  that  bats 
when  deprived  of  sight  by  the  extirpation  of  the  eyes,  and  as 
far  as  possible  of  hearing  and  smell  by  the  obliteration  of  the 
external  passages  of  those  senses,  were  still  capable  of  direct- 
ing their  flight  with  the  same  security  and  accuracy  as  before. 

A  A 


354  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

steering  their  course  through  passages  only  just  large  enough  to 
admit  them  without  coming  into  contact  with  the  sides,  and  even 
avoiding  numerous  small  threads  which  were  stretched  across 
the  room  in  various  directions — the  wings  never,  even  by  acci- 
dent, touching  any  of  them.  These  marvellous  results  led  him 
to  believe  that  these  animals  are  endowed  with  a  sixth  sense,  the 
immediate  operation  as  well  as  the  locality  of  which  is,  of  course, 
unknown  to  and  inappreciable  by  us;  but  the  sagacity  of  Cuvier 
removed  the  mystery  without  weakening  the  interest  of  these 
curious  facts,  by  referring  to  the  flying-  membrane  as  the  seat  of 
this  extraordinary  faculty.  According  to  his  view  of  the  subject, 
the  whole  surface  of  the  wings  on  both  sides  may  be  considered 
as  an  enormously-expanded  organ  of  touch  of  the  most  exquisite 
sensibility;  and  it  is,  therefore,  by  the  varied  modification  of  the 
impulsion  of  the  atmosphere  upon  this  surface  that  the  know- 
ledge of  the  propinquity  of  foreign  bodies  is  communicated. 

But  touch  is  not  the  only  sense  which  is  highly  developed  in 
the  bats,  for  the  vast  extent  of  the  shell  of  the  ear  in  the  in- 
sectivorous species  is  undoubtedly  of  great  assistance  in  the 
collection  of  sounds,  and  their  smell  is  also  wonderfully  acute. 
In  many  of  them,  particularly  in  the  rhinolophidse — whose  habits 
are  more  completely  lucifugous  and  retired  than  any  others, 

and  who  are  found  in 
the  darkest  penetralia 
of  caverns,  and  other 
places  where  there  is 
not  even  the  imperfect 
light  which  the  other 
genera  of  bats  enjoy — 
the  nose  is  furnished 
with  foliaceous  append- 
ages, formed  of  the  inte- 
gument doubled,  folded, 

Khmolophus. 

and  cut  into  the  most 

curious  and  grotesque  forms — an  organisation  evidently  intended 
to  give  increased  power  and  delicacy  to  the  organ  of  smell,  and 
thus  to  supersede  the  sense  of  vision  in  situations  where  the  latter 
would  be  unavailable.  Thus  admirably  equipped  for  nocturnal 
flight,  the  bats  launch  forth  in  quest  of  their  insect  prey, 


STKUCTUEE    OF    CARNIVOROUS    ANIMALS. 


355 


which,  though  screened  by  the  veil  of  darkness,  vainly  endeavours 
to  escape  detection. 

According  to  their  various  modes  of  life,  the  quadrupeds  are 
amply  provided  with  the  means  of  defence  or  aggression.  The 
carnivorous  animals,  destined  to  prey  upon  others,  required,  of 
course,  to  be  specially  equipped  for  active  war;  and  as  the  seal 
of  perfection  is  stamped  upon  all  the  Almighty's  works,  their 
structure  exhibits,  in  the  greatest  imaginable  degree,  every 
quality  which  a  life  of  rapine  and  violence  requires. 

Thus,  for  instance,  the  skeleton  of  the  lion  shows,  in  all  its 
parts,  a  masterly  combination  of  lightness  of  form  with  colossal 
power.  The  spine  is  flexible  yet  of  great  strength,  while  the 


Skeleton  of  Lion. 


extent  and  robustness  of  the  lumbar  portion  of  the  vertebral 
column  seem  at  once  adapted  for  that  flexibility,  and  for  the 
location  of  powerful  muscles.  The  ribs  are  narrow  and  far 
asunder,  the  limbs  so  constructed  as  to  afford  the  greatest  facility 
and  extent  of  motion,  and  the  massive  proportions  of  the  cranium 
and  jawbone  give  evidence  of  the  enormous  development  of 
muscular  power  necessary  for  cutting  and  tearing  in  pieces  the 
hard  tendinous  portions  of  the  animal's  prey. 

A  A  2 


356  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

The  smaller  felidse,  less  formidable  by  their  muscular  strength,  • 
make  up  for  this  deficiency  by  a  still  greater  activity  in  their 
movements,,  and  a  considerable  expertness  in  climbing.  The 
leopard  creeps  through  the  thickets  with  a  serpent's  flexibility, 
and  when  pursued  by  a  more  powerful  foe  frequently  escapes 
upon  the  trees.  There  also  the  wild-cat  seeks  his  prey,  and  the 
ferocious  lynx,  lying  in  ambush  among  the  branches,  springs 
down  upon  the  back  of  the  unsuspecting  deer,  and  soon  brings 
him  to  the  ground. 

In  the  weasel  tribe  the  legs  are  shorter,  the  vertebral  column 
elongated  and  in  the  highest  degree  flexible,  the  head  small 
and  slender ;  a  structure  by  which  they  are  enabled  to  creep 
through  extremely  narrow  holes  and  crevices,  in  quest  of  the 
rats,  mice,  moles,  and  small  birds  on  which  they  prey. 

The  bears,  who  live  both  on  vegetable  and  animal  food,  require 
neither  the  retractile  claws  of  the  felidse,  nor  their  prodigious 
spring.  The  plantigrade  form  of  their  foot  enables  them  to 
walk  with  firmness  and  solidity,  to  climb  trees,  or  to  dig  the 
ground  in  quest  of  the  food  from  which  they  derive  their 
nutriment.  In  spite  of  their  uncouth  appearance  and  clumsy 
gait,  they  are  capable  of  great  activity ;  and  the  larger  terres- 
trial species  know  how  to  defend  themselves  against  the  most 
formidable  enemies,  either  felling  them  with  a  blow  of  their 
forepaws,  or  stifling  them  in  a  murderous  embrace. 

The  elongated  form  of  the  Polar  bear,  and  his  short  broad 
paws,  enable  this  tyrant  of  the  Arctic  shores  to  swim  with 
the  greatest  facility ;  and  thus  every  member  of  the  family  is 
admirably  fitted  out  for  his  peculiar  field  of  action. 

Destined  to  perform  an  important  part  in  the  economy  of 
Nature,  by  cleansing  the  earth  of  the  decaying  carcases  of  the 
larger  beasts,  whose  remains  might  otherwise  infect  the  atmo- 
sphere with  pestilential  effluvia,  the  hyaenas  are  not  so  well 
armed  for  active  war  as  the  felidse,  having  neither  their 
retractile  talons  nor  their  terrific  bound.  Their  hind-legs  are 
comparatively  feeble;  for,  in  harmonious  accordance  with  their 
mode  of  life,  the  chief  strength  of  their  body  is  thrown  into  their 
forequarters,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  disinter  corpses  from  their 
graves,  or  to  make  themselves  burrows  in  the  earth,  into  which 
they  retire  during  the  daytime.  For  this  purpose  their  claws 
are  extremely  strong,  and  the  enormous  power  of  their  jaws  and 


MODES    OF   DEFENCE    OF   CETACEANS.  357 

solidity  of  their  teeth  are  equally  well  adapted  for  crushing  the 
hardest  bones,  so  as  to  leave  undevoured  no  part  of  the  carrion 
on  which  they  chiefly  feed.  Their  nocturnal  habits  protect  them 
from  many  a  hostile  collision,  though  when  attacked  they  are 
far  from  being  contemptible  opponents. 

The  seals  play  among  the  fishes  a  part  similar  to  that  of  the 
cat  tribes  among  the  herbivorous  quadrupeds.  For  this  pur- 
pose they  are  not  only  beautifully  formed  for  swimming,  both 
by  the  structure  of  their  finlike  limbs,  their  tapering  body, 
and  the  strong  muscles  of  their  spine,  which  bend  it  with  con- 
siderable force,  and  thus  greatly  assist  propulsion  ;  but  they  are 
also  furnished  with  sharp  and  many-pointed  teeth,  excellently 
adapted  for  seizing,  holding,  and  tearing  the  fishes,  the  activity 
of  whose  motions,  no  less  than  their  scaly  surface  and  even 
rounded  form,  render  such  a  structure  absolutely  necessary. 
When  on  land  or  on  masses  of  ice,  where  they  love  to  bask  in  the 
sun,  their  slow  and  awkward  movements  expose  them  to  many 
dangers ;  but  they  make  up  for  this  deficiency  by  their  caution  and 
watchfulness,  seldom  venturing  from  the  shore,  so  as  to  be  able 
at  the  approach  of  danger  to  plunge  immediately  to  the  bottom 
of  the  water,  and  seldom  sleeping  longer  than  a  minute  without 
moving  their  heads  to  ascertain  whether  anything  suspicious  is 
going  on. 

The  cetaceans,  particularly  the  whales,  are  in  general  of  a 
pacific  disposition,  and  will  rather  avoid  a  hostile  encounter 
than  boldly  face  it ;  but  when  attacked  by  other  monsters  of  the 
deep,  by  the  terrible  swordfish  or  the  formidable  thresher, 
their  tail  becomes  a  terrific  weapon  of  defence.  The  annals  of 
the  whale-fishery  are  full  of  instances  where  a  single  blow  of 
this  monster  club  has  cut  the  pursuing  boat  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  or  hurled  the  unfortunate  harpooner  high  into  the  air. 
The  sperm-whale  sometimes  also  uses  his  enormous  head  as  a 
kind  of  catapult  or  ram,  to  stave  a  boat,  or,  turning  on  his 
back,  he  endeavours  to  crush  it  between  his  jaws. 

Though  destitute  of  claws,  the  monkeys  find  ample  means  of 
safety  in  their  arboreal  life,  their  cunning  vigilance,  and  their 
amazing  agility  in  climbing.  Bounding  from  bough  to  bough, 
they  will  pass  through  the  most  entangled  forests  with  surprising 
swiftness,  and  mock  the  tiger-cat  in  his  pursuit,  or  baffle  the 
huntsman's  aim.  The  apes  upon  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  although 


358  THE    HARMONIES    OF   NATURE. 

close  to  the  town,  can  never  be  approached  by  the  most  cautious 
sportsmen  ;  they  climb  with  the  greatest  facility  among  frightful 
precipices,  where  neither  dogs  nor  men  can  follow,  and  thus 
their  preservation  is  effected  by  the  possession  of  one  single 
faculty. 

Although  destitute  of  defensive  weapons,  the  bats  are  secured 
from  many  hostile  attacks  by  their  nocturnal  habits  and  their 
peculiar  mode  of  flight.  Their  evolutions  are  so  rapid,  that  the 
owl,  who  is  supposed  to  be  their  greatest  enemy,  is  quite  unable 
to  catch  them  on  the  wing ;  though,  as  he  inhabits  the  same 
lonely  spots — caves,  grottos,  ruins — he  may  chance  to  surprise 
them  while  they  are  reposing  in  their  dismal  haunts.  The  cats 
and  the  weasels,  unable  to  follow  them  through  the  air,  can  only 
seize  such  of  them  as  by  some  accident  have  fallen  to  the  ground  ; 
and  thus,  although  seemingly  so  helpless,  they  have  in  reality 
scarcely  any  foe  to  dread  but  man,  who,  instead  of  protecting 
and  fostering  these  highly  useful  animals — whose  services  are 
the  more  to  be  valued  as  they  chiefly,  with  their  companions  the 
goatsuckers,  prey  upon  crepuscular  and  nocturnal  insects — 
foolishly  persecutes  and  destroys  them. 

The  ruminants,  whose  tender  flesh  so  mightily  excites  the 
appetite  of  the  felidse,  frequently  evade  or  baffle  these  for- 
midable enemies.  In  addition  to  great  swiftness,  which  soon 
carries  them  out  of  the  reach  of  danger,  they  have  also  the 
means  of  repelling  it.  Their  heads  are  furnished  with  strong 
pointed  horns,  by  which  they  can  not  only  rebut  their  adver- 
sary and  keep  him  at  bay,  but  even  toss  him  in  the  air  and 
pierce  him  to  death. 

The  power  of  the  bovine  races  is  well  known  even  in  their 
domesticated  condition,  but  in  the  wild  state  they  are  much 
more  formidable.  The  East  Indian  buffalo  will  set  even  the 
savage  tiger  at  defiance  ;  for  though  singly  he  may  find  it  difficult 
to  withstand  the  sharp  claws  and  furious  onset  of  his  for- 
midable enemy,  yet  when  belonging  to  a  herd,  his  companions 
immediately  come  to  his  assistance  and  put  the  brute  to  flight. 
The  Indian  herdsman,  trusting  to  the  spirit  of  these  courageous 
ruminants,  is  therefore  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  leading  them 
into  a  jungle  infested  by  tigers.  Captain  Eice  once  saw  a 
troop  of  buffalos,  excited  by  the  blood  of  a  tiger  he  had  wounded, 
throw  themselves  furiously  into  the  thicket  where  the  beast  had 


HORNS    AND    HOOFS    OF    RUMINANTS.  359 

suught  refuge,  beat  about  the  bushes,  and  tear  up  the  ground 
with  their  horns.  Their  rage  became  at  length  so  ungovernable, 
that  they  began  to  fight  among  each  other,  to  the  great  despair 
of  the  herdsman. 

The  bison  of  the  North  American  prairies  is  equally  dan- 
gerous when  excited,  and  the  aurochs  of  Lithuania  defies  every 
carnivorous  animal  of  his  native  forest.  The  long,  twisted, 
and  pointed  horns  of  the  eland  (Damalis  orcas)  are  sufficient 
to  pierce  a  man  through-and -through  by  one  thrust,  and  even 
the  horns  of  the  goat  can  inflict  severe  wounds. 

It  may  be  observed  as  a  general  rule  among  the  cervine  and 
antelopine  races,  that  in  proportion  to  the  smallness  of  their 
horns  they  seem  endowed  with  an  additional  degree  of  speed. 
The  roebuck  and  the  chamois  are  proofs  of  this :  the  horns  of 
both  are  but  ill-calculated  for  vigorous  defence,  yet  both  are 
proverbial  for  their  swiftness,  and  thus  avoid  many  dangers 
with  which  they  would  be  unable  to  cope.  The  graceful  dark- 
eyed  gazelle,  the  favourite  of  the  poets  of  the  East,  whose  weak 
horns  can  hardly  afford  the  slightest  resistance  to  attack,  bounds 
across  the  desert  with  such  amazing  fleetness,  that  it  seems 
to  skim  over  the  surface  like  a  bird. 

The  horses,  to  whom  a  horned  front  has  been  denied,  find 
compensation  in  their  hard  and  solid  hoofs,  with  which  they 
deal  out  such  blows  as  to  make  many  an  enemy  repent  having 
approached  them  too  nearly.  Moreover,  in  the  wild  state  the 
various  species  of  this  noble  animal  live  in  wide-extended 
plains,  avoiding  forests  and  steep  places;  so  that,  with  the  aid 
of  their  acute  senses  and  wonderful  speed,  they  can  both  per- 
ceive danger  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  avoid  it  by  a  rapid 
flight. 

The  giraffe  seems  at  the  first  glance  a  rather  helpless  animal, 
ill-provided  with  the  means  of  escaping  the  crafty  attacks  of 
the  lion  or  the  panther,  particularly  as  in  the  vast  arid  plains 
through  which  he  roams  his  towering  height  makes  him 
conspicuous  from  an  immense  distance.  His  colossal  stature, 
however,  is  far  less  frequently  a  source  of  danger  than  of 
security;  for  his  large,  dark,  and  lustrous  eyes  are  able,  by 
their  lateral  projection,  to  take  in  a  wider  range  of  the  horizon 
than  is  subject  to  the  vision  of  any  other  quadruped  ;  and  their 
efficacy  must  naturally  be  much  increased  by  their  sweeping 


360  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

over  the  plain  from  a  height  of  seventeen  feet  or  more.  During 
the  hours  of  darkness,  the  large,  erect,  and  pointed  ears  of  the 
giraffe  no  doubt  render  him  as  trusty  services  as  the  keenness 
of  his  vision  by  day.  When  flight  becomes  necessary,  he  bounds 
away  in  a  graceful  undulating  canter ;  or,  when  driven  to  battle, 
strikes  out  so  powerfully  with  his  well-armed  feet,  as  to  defeat 
even  the  lion.  His  horns,  small  as  they  are,  and  muffled  with 
skin  and  hair,  are  likewise  no  contemptible  weapons,  when,  with 
a  sidelong  sweep  of  the  neck,  he  levels  them  at  full  swing  against 
his  adversary's  head. 

Of  all  the  quadrupeds  the  sloth  was  supposed  to  be  the  most 
helpless;  but  modern  travellers,  who  have  had  occasion  to  observe 
him  in  his  native  haunts,  have  fully  corrected  this  erroneous 
opinion.  The  colour  of  his  hair  so  strongly  resembles  the  hue 
of  the  moss  which  grows  on  the  trees,  that  even  the  falcon- 
eyed  Indian,  accustomed  from  his  earliest  infancy  to  note  the 
slightest '  signs  of  forest- life,  is  hardly  able  to  distinguish  him 
from  the  branches  to  which  he  clings.  This  no  doubt  serves 
him  as  a  protection  against  many  enemies,  and  when  discovered 
he  defends  himself  most  vigorously  with  his  formidable  claws ; 
and  woe  to  the  tiger-cat  or  tree-snake  that  comes  within  their 
reach ! 

The  great  ant-eater,  to  whom  Nature  has  denied  sharp  teeth 
and  a  rapid  flight,  who  is  unable  to  burrow  or  to  roll  himself  up 
in  a  ball,  still  ranges  through  the  wilderness  in  perfect  safety, 
and  fears  no  hostile  encounter,  for  he  has  full  reliance  on  his 
powerful  forelegs  and  their  tremendous  claws.  Dr.  Richard 
Schomburgk  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  how  a  young 
ant-eater  made  use  of  these  formidable  weapons.  On  the  enemy's 
approach  it  assumed  the  defensive,  but  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  make  even  the  boldest  aggressor  quail ;  for,  resting  on  its  left 
forefoot,  ifc  struck  out  desperately  with  its  right  paw.  Assailed 
from  behind,  it  wheeled  round  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning ; 
and  on  being  attacked  from  several  quarters  at  once,  threw  itself 
on  its  back,  and  fought  with  both  its  forepaws,  uttering  at  the 
same  time  an  angry  growl  of  defiance.  In  fact,  the  great  ant- 
eater  is  so  formidable  an  opponent,  that  he  is  said  not  unfre- 
quently  to  vanquish  even  the  jaguar ;  for  the  latter  is  often  found 
weltering  in  his  blood,  with  ripped-up  bowels — a  wound  which 
the  claws  of  the  ant-eater  alone  are  able  to  inflict. 


DEFENSIVE   AEMOUE   OF   QUADEUPEDS.  361 

The  monstrous  pachydermata  or  thick-skinned  quadrupeds— 
the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  the  hippopotamus — are  gifted  with 
other  means  of  defence.  Relying  on  his  enormous  weight,  the 
elephant  first  strikes  down  his  assailant  with  his  trunk,  and 
then  crushes  him  into  a  shapeless  mass  by  the  pressure  of  his 
foot. 

Though  naturally  of  a  quiet  and  inoffensive  disposition,  the 
rhinoceros  when  provoked  or  attacked  charges  with  great 
impetuosity,  and  either  tramples 
his  adversary  underfoot,  or  rips 
him  up  with  his  horn,  which, 
though  short  and  blunt,  is  a 
most  effective  weapon.  To  all 
these  means  of  preservation  may 
be  added  an  extraordinary  acute- 
ness  of  smell  and  hearing,  and 
that  remarkably  thick  skin  which 
furnishes  a  name  to  this  order.  In  The  Rhinoceros. 

the   rhinoceros  particularly  this 

characteristic  is  so  highly  developed  that  its  hide  is  musketproof, 
and  becomes  as  effectual  for  defence  as  if  the  animal  were  en- 
cased in  a  coat>of-mail. 

The  hippopotamus,  on  the  other  hand,  although  possessed  of 
a  very  thick  skin,  is  destitute  either  of  proboscis,  tusks,  or  horns. 
His  habits  are  aquatic,  and  he  retreats  into  deep  water  in 
the  moment  of  danger,  and  bids  defiance  to  all  enemies  of  the 
land.  To  add  to  his  security,  his  ears,  nostrils,  and  eyes  are  all 
on  the  same  plane,  on  the  upper  level  of  the  head ;  so  that  the 
unwieldy  monster,  when  immersed  in  his  favourite  element,  is 
able  to  draw  breath,  and  to  use  three  senses  at  once  for  hours 
together,  without  exposing  more  than  his  snout. 

The  rodents,  the  smallest  and  the  weakest  of  the  quadrupeds, 
have  indeed  but  feeble  arms  to  oppose  to  the  larger  animals  of 
which  they  are  the  prey ;  yet  their  caution,  agility,  and  nocturnal 
habits  preserve  them  from  many  perils.  The  hare  is  probably,  for 
its  size,  the  most  defenceless  quadruped  yet  discovered.  It  has 
neither  tooth  nor  claw  to  repel  an  enemy ;  it  can  neither  climb 
the  trees  nor  burrow  in  the  earth,  nor  dive  into  the  water  nor 
fly  into  the  air,  like  the  squirrel  or  the  mole,  the  beaver  or  the 
bat ;  yet  how  admirably  has  Nature  provided  for  its  safety  !  Its 


362  THE    HAKMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

whole  organisation  seems  to  indicate  the  extreme  of  watchfulness 
in  perceiving  danger,  and  of  speed  and  cunning  in  avoiding 
it.  Similar  qualities  characterise  the  squirrels,  who  may  be 
called  the  hares  of  the  trees,  from  their  great  agility  in  climb- 
ing, and  their  prodigious  leaps  from  bough  to  bough.  As  is 
well  known,  the  squirrel  is  an  admirable  nest-builder.  His 
summer  cage,  in  which  the  young  are  born,  is  placed  nearly 
at  the  extremity  of  a  slender  bough,  and  is  comparatively  frail ; 
while  his  winter  residence  is  almost  invariably  situated  in  the 
fork  of  some  tree,  generally  where  two  branches  start  from  the 
trunk,  and  is  so  well  concealed  by  the  boughs  on  which  it  rests, 
that  it  requires  a  practised  eye  to  detect  it.  Thus  the  squirrel 
never  forsakes  the  trees,  which  afford  him  both  food  and  shelter. 

Most  rodents,  however,  seek  a  refuge  from  their  enemies  in 
subterranean  burrows,  frequently  driving  a  whole  labyrinth  of 
tunnels  through  the  soil.  The  rabbit  is  a  familiar  example ;  but 
however  active  he  may  be  in  excavating  sandy  heaths  and  downs, 
his  labours  are  inferior  both  in  extent  and  ingenuity  to  those  of 
the  prairie-dog  (Arctcmiys  ludovicianus),  a  species  of  marmot 
which  inhabits  the  vast  grass-plains  of  North  America,  and  owes 
its  popular  name  to  the  short  yelping  sound  it  is  fond  of  uttering. 
These  pretty  little  rodents  frequently  assemble  in  such  num- 
bers that  thousands  of  their  burrows  are  dug  in  close  proximity 
to  each  other,  and  honeycomb  the  ground  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  render  it  quite  unsafe  for  horses.  The  scene  presented  by 
one  of  these  *  dog-towns'  or  villages  is  extremely  curious,  and 
well  repays  the  trouble  of  a  visit. 

'The  prairie-dogs,'  says  the  Hon.  C.  A.  Murray,  'burrow 
under  the  light  soil,  and  throw  it  up  round  the  entrance  to 
their  dwelling  like  the  English  rabbit;  on  this  little  mound 
they  generally  sit,  chirping  and  chattering  to  one  another  like 
two  neighbour-gossips  in  a  village.  I  do  not  know  what 
their  occupations  are,  but  I  have  seen  them  constantly  running 
from  one  hole  to  another,  although  they  do  not  ever  pay  any 
distant  visits.  They  seem  on  the  approach  of  danger  always  to 
retire  to  their  own  home;  but  their  great  delight  apparently 
consists  in  braving  it,  with  the  usual  insolence  of  cowardice,  when 
secure  from  punishment;  for,  as  you  approach,  they  wag  their 
little  tails,  elevate  their  heads,  and  chatter  at  you  like  a  monkey, 
louder  and  louder  the  nearer  you  come  ;  but  no  sooner  is  the 
hand  raised  to  any  missile,  whether  gun,  arrow,  stick,  or  stone, 


BURROWING    RODENTS.  363 

than  they  pop  into  the  hole  with  a  rapidity  only  equalled  by 
that  sudden  disappearance  of  Punch,  with  which,  when  a  child, 
I  have  been  so  much  delighted  in  the  streets  and  squares  of 
London.' 

Many  rodents  burrow  not  only  for  safety,  but  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  subterranean  provision-stores.  Among  these 
provident  little  animals  none  is  more  famous  than  the  hamster, 
whose  enormous  cheek-pouches  have  already  brought  him  under 
our  notice.  His  dwellings  are  formed  under  the  earth,  and  con- 
sist of  more  or  fewer  apartments,  according  to  the  age  of  the 
animal.  A  young  hamster  makes  them  hardly  a  foot  deep,  an 
old  one  sinks  them  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  feet ;  and  the 
whole  diameter  of  the  residence,  taking  in  all  its  habitations,  is 
sometimes  eight  or  ten  feet.  The  principal  chamber  is  lined 
with  dried  grass,  and  serves  for  a  lodging  ;  the  others  are  vaults 
destined  for  the  preservation  of  provisions.  Each  hole  of  the 
male  hamster  has  two  apertures — the  one  descending  obliquely, 
which  serves  him  to  escape  in  case  of  a  forcible  irruption  into 
his  premises  ;  and  the  other  perpendicularly,  through  which  he 
makes  his  usual  ingress  and  .egress.  The  holes  of  the  females, 
who  never  reside  with  the  males,  have  more  numerous  passages, 
and  frequently  six  or  eight  perpendicular  openings. 

In  the  beaver  the  burrowing  faculty  expands  into  a  \vonderful 
building  instinct,  such  as  no  other  quadruped  possesses.  In 
summer,  this  interesting  rodent  leads  a  solitary  life,  in  burrows 
which  he  digs  along  the  banks  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  Northern 
America ;  but  as  soon  as  the  first  night-frosts  signalize  the  ap- 
proach of  chilly  autumn,  he  leaves  his  summer  seat,  and  forms 
n  society  with  other  individuals  of  his  kind,  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  his  winter  lodge.  The  associates  select,  if  possible,  a  spot 
where  the  water  is  always  so  deep  as  not  to  freeze  to  the 
bottom  in  winter ;  but  in  small  rivers  and  creeks,  in  which  the 
water  is  liable  to  be  drained  off  when  the  back-supplies  are 
congested  by  the  frost,  they,  with  wonderful  sagacity,  provide 
against  that  evil  by  raising  a  dam  across  the  stream,  almost 
straight  where  the  current  is  weak,  but  where  it  is  more  rapid 
curving  more  or  less  with  the  convex  side  opposed  to  the  current, 
so  as  to  break  its  violence.  The  materials  made  use  of  are  drift- 
wood, green  willows,  birch,  and  poplars,  intermixed  with  mud 
and  stones.  As  if  it  had  been  planned  by  a  skilful  engineer, 
this  dam  opposes  a  sufficient  barrier  to  the  force  both  of 


364  THE   HAEMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

water  and  ice ;  and  as  the  trees  employed  in  constructing  it 
generally  take  root  and  shoot  up,  it  forms  in  time  a  green  hedge 
in  which  the  birds  build  their  nests. 

By  means  of  these  erections  the  water  is  kept  at  a  sufficient 
height,  for  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  there  should  be  at 
least  three  feet  of  water  above  the  entrance  of  the  lodge, 
without  which,  in  the  hard  frosts,  it  would  be  entirely  closed  ; 
for  the  entrance  is  not  on  the  land-side,  but  always  under  water, 
so  as  to  secure  the  inmates  from  the  attacks  of  wild  animals. 

The  lodges,  each  of  which  is  made  large  enough  to  contain 
about  four  old  and  six  or  eight  young  ones,  are  erected  either 
along  the  dyke  or  on  the  banks  of  the  river  or  lake,  and  plas- 
tered over  with  mud,  which  soon  freezes  as  hard  as  stone,  and 
prevents  the  wolverine  from  disturbing  them  during  the  winter. 
They  are  built  of  the  same  materials  as  the  dam,  of  an  oval  or 
beehive  shape,  and  of  a  diameter  of  six  or  seven  feet.  The 
interior  forms  only  a  single  chamber,  resembling  an  oven ;  and 
at  a  little  distance  is  the  magazine  for  provisions,  where  they 
keep  in  store  the  roots  of  the  yellow  waterlily  and  the  branches 
of  the  black  spruce,  the  aspen,  and  the  birch,  which  they  are 
careful  to  plant  in  the  mud.  Their  magazines  .sometimes  con- 
tain a  cartload  of  these  articles,  and  the  beavers  are  so  indus- 
trious that  they  are  always  adding  to  their  store.  They  convey 
the  mud  and  stones  with  their  small  forepaws,  holding  their 
load  close  up  between  them  under  their  throat,  while  they  always 
drag  the  wood  with  their  teeth. 

When  the  beavers  settle  on  the  banks  of  a  stream,  they  cut 
their  wood  above  the  spot  which  they  have  selected  for  their 
lodges,  and  use  the  current  to  convey  it  where  it  is  wanted. 
The  precautions  they  take  in  felling  trees  are  truly  wonderful. 
When  the  trunk  has  been  cut  all  round  and  is  near  its  fall, 
they  measure  every  bite,  so  that  it  must  necessarily  fall  into  the 
water,  and  not  towards  the  land,  which  would  render  all  their 
labour  useless.  Thus,  throughout  all  the  building  operations  of 
the  beaver,  we  find  an  attention  paid  to  physical  laws  which 
is  not  always  displayed  in  the  works  of  human  architecture. 

The  ondatra,  musquash,  or  muskrat,  a  rodent  common 
throughout  Canada  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories,  and  well 
known  in  England  by  its  valuable  fur,  so  greatly  resembles  the 
beaver  in  its  way  of  life,  that  the  Indians,  who  are  keen  ob- 


THE   MUSQUASH.  365 

servers  of  nature,  call  them  brothers,  but  allow  the  latter  the 
rank  of  primogeniture  from  his  superior  building  abilities. 

Essentially  a  bank-haunting  animal,  the  musquash  is  never 
to  be  seen  at  any  great  distance  from  the  water,  where  it  swims 
and  dives  with  consummate  ease,  aided  greatly  by  the  webs 
which  connect  the  hinder  toes.  It  drives  a  large  series  of  tunnels 
into  the  bank,  branching  out  in  various  directions,  and  having 
several  entrances,  all  of  which  open  under  the  surface  of  the 
water.  The  tunnels  are  of  considerable  length,  and  they  all 
slope  slightly  upwards,  uniting  in  a  single  chamber  in  which 
the  inhabitants  repose.  If  the  animal  happens  to  live  upon  a 
marshy  and  uniformly  wet  soil,  it  becomes  a  builder,  and  shows 
great  judgment  in  the  selection  of  the  site,  invariably  choosing 
some  higher  ground  above  the  reach  of  inundation,  or  else  rais- 
ing its  hut  on  an  artificial  foundation  ;  for,  though  obliged  to 
reside  near  flat  submerged  banks,  where  the  soft  soil  is  full  of 
nourishing  roots,  it  requires  a  dry  home  to  rest  in. 

The  huts  are  about  two-and-a-half  or  three  feet  in  diameter, 
plastered  with  great  neatness  in  the  inside,  and  covered  externally 
with  a  kind  of  basket-work  of  rushes,  carefully  interlaced 
together  so  as  to  form  a  compact  and  secure  guard  imper- 
meable by  water.  They  are  sometimes  built  in  such  num- 
bers together,  that  they  may  be  compared  with  villages.  In 
winter  they  are  generally  covered  with  a  thick  mantle  of  snow, 
under  whose  shelter  the  industrious  musquash  is  able  to  procure 
water,  or  to  reach  the  provisions  stored  up  in  its  subterranean 
home.  Thus  it  lives  in  abundance  and  security,  for  the  marten 
and  the  minx  are  too  averse  to  the  water,  and  the  otter  too 
bulky,  to  be  able  to  penetrate  into  its  tunnels.  But  when  the 
snow  melts,  and  the  diminutive  huts  of  the  musquash  appear 
above  the  ground,  the  Indian  steals  up,  and,  dashing  them  to 
pieces  with  his  spear  and  tomahawk,  secures  the  unfortunate  in- 
mates. Great  numbers  are  also  destroyed  by  the  spring  inunda- 
tions, and  in  severe  winters  they  are  almost  extirpated  from  some 
localities  by  the  freezing  of  the  swamps  which  they  inhabit. 

Besides  the  generality  of  the  rodents,  we  find  many  other 
burrowers  among  the  more  helpless  or  timid  quadrupeds — such 
as  the  armadillos,  the  manis,  the  smaller  ant-eaters  — or  even 
among  the  carnivora,  such  as  the  fox  or  the  badger ;  but  as  it 
would  lead  me  too  far  were  I  to  follow  the  whole  number  in  their 


366  THE    HARMONIES    OF    NATURE. 

subterranean  labours,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  short  description 
of  the  underground  residences  of  our  native  mole  and  of  the 
Australian  duckbill.  The  former  not  only  digs  tunnels  in  the 
ground,  but  forms  a  complicated  residence,  which  may  rival 
the  more  celebrated  erections  of  the  beaver. 

4  The  district  or  domain,'  says  Mr.  Bell,  in  his  '  History  of 
British  Quadrupeds,'  'to  which  an  individual  mole  confines 
himself,  may  be  termed  his  encampment.  Within  its  limits,  or 
at  least  in  immediate  communication  with  the  district,  all  the 
labours  of  the  animal  are  pursued.  It  consists  of  the  habitation 
or  fortress,  from  which  extends  the  high-road  by  which  the 
animal  reaches  the  opposite  end  of  the  encampment,  and  of 
various  galleries  or  excavations  opening  into  this  road,  which  it 
is  continually  extending  in  search  of  food.  The  fortress  is 
formed  under  a  large  hillock,  which  is  always  raised  in  a  situa- 
tion of  safety  and  protection — either  under  a  bank,  against  the 
foundation  of  a  wall,  at  the  root  of  a  tree,  or  in  some  similar 
locality.  The  earth  of  which  the  dome  covering  this  curious 
habitation  is  composed,  is  rendered  exceedingly  strong  and  solid 
by  being  pressed  and  beaten  by  the  mole  in  forming  it.  It 
contains  a  circular  gallery  within  the  base,  which  communicates 
with  a  smaller  one  above  by  five  nearly  equidistant  passages ; 
and  the  domicile  or  chamber  is  placed  within  the  lower  and 
beneath  the  upper  circular  gallery,  to  which  last  it  has  access  by 
three  similar  passages.  From  the  chamber  extends  another  road, 
the  direction  of  which  is  at  first  downwards  for  several  inches  ; 
it  then  rises  again  to  open  into  the  high-road  of  the  encamp- 
ment. From  the  external  circular  gallery  open  about  nine  other 
passages,  the  orifices  of  which  are  never  formed  opposite  to  those 
which  connect  the  outer  with  the  inner  and  upper  galleries  ; 
these  extend  to  a  greater  or  less  distance,  and  return,  each  taking 
an  irregular  semicircular  route,  and  opening  into  the  high-road 
at  various  distances  from  the  fortress.' 

Being  a  peculiarly  aquatic  animal,  the  duckbill  always  makes 
its  home  in  the  bank  of  some  stream,  almost  invariably  at  a 
wide  and  still  part  of  the  river.  There  are  always  two  en- 
trances to  the  burrow,  one  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
the  other  above,  so  that  the  animal  may  be  able  to  regain  its 
home  either  by  diving  or  by  slipping  into  the  entrance  which  is 
above  the  surface.  This  latter  entrance  is  so  well  hidden  by 


THE    DUCKBILL.  3f>7 

overshadowing  grasses  and  drooping  herbs  that  even  the  keenest 
inspection  frequently  fails  to  detect  it.  The  burrow  itself  ex- 
tends in  numerous  curves  and  windings  to  a  length  of  thirty  or 
forty  feet,  and  at  its  upper  extremity  is  placed  the  nest,  an 
excavation  of  a  somewhat  oval  form,  much  broader  than  the 
width  of  the  burrow,  and  well  supplied  with  dry  weeds  and 
grasses,  upon  which  the  young  ma-y  rest. 


Burrow  of  the  Duckbill. 

Most  of  the  mammalia  whom  Nature  has  clothed  with 
spines  or  strong  bony  scales,  increase  the  efficiency  of  their 
armour  by  the  faculty  of  rolling  themselves  up  into  a  ball,  and 
thus  opposing  on  all  sides  to  the  enemy  a  forest  of  spears  or  an 
impenetrable  coat-of-mail.  Contracting  the  strong  muscular 
fibres  with  which  its  skin  is  interwoven,  the  hedgehog,  when 
molested,  presents  nothing  but  its  prickles  to  the  foe,  and  the 
more  the  animal  is  irritated  and  alarmed  the  more  firmly 
does  it  contract  itself,  and  the  more  stiff  and  strong  does 
its  bristly  panoply  become.  Thus  rolled  up,  it  patiently  waits 


368     ,  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

till  the  danger  is  past ;  and  however  desirous  the  cat,  the  weasel, 
the  ferret,  and  the  martin  may  be  to  taste  its  tender  flesh,  they 
soon  find  out  the  uselessness  of  tooth  or  claw  to  force  the  strong- 
hold ;  and  though  a  well-trained  terrier  or  a  fox  may  now  and 
then  be  found  to  overcome  the  resistance  of  a  hedgehog,  it 
generally  remains  secure — scarcely  anything  but  a  cold-water 
bath  obliging  it  to  unfold  itself. 

Kolling  itself  in  like  manner  into  a  perfect  sphere,  the  arma- 
dillo completely  conceals  its  head  and  tail  under  its  tesselated 
armour,  so  that  no  dog  can  force  it  to  unfold  itself;  and  the 
African  long-tailed  manis,  hiding  every  vulnerable  part  under 
a  rampart  of  trenchant  scales,  repels  the  assaults  even  of  the 
panther. 

Though  unable  to  roll  itself  up  so  completely  as  the  hedge- 
hog, the  6  fretful '  porcupine  makes  up  for  this  want  by  the 
greater  power  and  length  of  its  sharp  quills,  which,  when  at- 
tacked, it  raises  on  every  side  like  so  many  chevaux-de-frise; 
so  that  a  beast  of  prey  is  hardly  ever  able  to  force  the  bristling 
phalanx,  and  man  is  almost  the  only  enemy  it  has  to  fear. 
When  driven  to  extremities,  it  is  not  satisfied  with  a  passive 
resistance,  but  rushes  upon  its  adversary,  and  always  sideways, 
thus  bringing  into  action  the  longest  and  sharpest  of  its  quills. 
Notwithstanding  its  vigorous  defence,  it  is  frequently  hunted 
in  the  sandy  districts  of  Barbary.  Well-beaten  paths,  and  here 
and  there  a  quill  it  may  have  lost,  direct  attention  to  its  burrow 
among  the  prickly  shrubs.  The  huntsmen  widen  the  entrance 
with  their  swords,  until  a  hoarse  prolonged  growl  and  the  peculiar 
noise  which  the  enraged  porcupine  makes  on  raising  its  quills 
warn  them  to  be  on  their  guard.  Suddenly  the  creature  rushes 
forth,  but  the  well-aimed .  blow  of  a  .poniard  stretches  it  into 
the  dust.  A  fire  is  then  kindled,  and  the  animal  buried  under 
the  embers;  the  quills  are  then  easily  separated  from  the 
roasted  and  excellently-flavoured  meat. 

In  several  quadrupeds  the  emission  of  scents  or  fluids  of  an 
offensive  character  constitutes  an  important  means  of  defence. 
Thus,  most  of  the  members  of  the  weasel  tribe — as,  for  instance, 
the  ferret  or  the  polecat — emit,  when  irritated,  a  very  disagree- 
a,ble  odour,  which  no  doubt  cools  the  warlike  impetus  of  many 
an  enemy ;  but  the  most  highly-gifted  animals  in  this  respect 
are  the  skunks,  which  do  full  justice  to  their  Latin  generic 


GKEGARIOUS   QUADRUPEDS.  369 

name — Mephitis.  Their  various  species  inhabit  the  cold  and 
temperate  regions  of  North  and  South  America ;  and,  implicitly 
relying  on  the  strength  of  their  talisman,  they  fly  from  no  enemy, 
not  even  from  man.  Such  is  the  intolerable  odour  of  the 
secretion  from  their  glandular  pouches,  which  they  have  the 
power  of  ejecting  on  their  pursuers,  that  the  least  quantity 
suffices  to  produce  nausea  and  a  sense  of  suffocation. 

Prompted  by  the  powerful  instinct  of  self-preservation,  many 
of  the  quadrupeds,  singly  too  weak  to  oppose  an  effectual  resist- 
ance to  the  attacks  of  their  enemies,  find  an  additional  strength 
in  the  power  of  union.  Thus,  when  assaulted  by  the  jaguar, 
the  wild  oxen  of  the  American  llanos  or  grass-plains  of  the 
Orinoco  form  a  ring,  in  the  centre  of  which  they  place  their 
calves,  while  the  stronger  animals  turn  their  horns  towards  the 
enemy. 

The  wild  horses  of  America  likewise  march  in  columns — these 
troops  being  headed  by  a  vigorous  male  chief,  who  is  constantly 
at  their  head,  on  travel  or  in  battle,  and  is  invariably  followed 
under  all  circumstances.  When  the  herd  is  disturbed  by  any 
object,  they  approach  it  within  a  certain  distance,  having  the 
strongest  individuals  at  their  head,  examine  it  attentively,  and 
describe  one  or  more  circles  round  it.  If  it  does  not  appear  dan- 
gerous, they  approach  with  precaution ;  but  if  the  chiefs  recog- 
nise any  danger,  and  give  an  example  of  flight,  they  are  instantly 
followed  by  the  whole  troop. 

The  peccari,  a  small  hoglike  pachyderm  of  South  America, 
roams  in  herds  of  several  hundreds  through  the  tropical  forest. 
When  attacked,  the  whole  band  rushes  furiously  upon  the 
enemy,  so  that  even  the  puma  and  the  jaguar  do  not  venture 
to  assault  the  main  body,  but  merely  hang  on  the  outskirts 
ready  to  catch  some  unfortunate  straggler. 

For  greater  security  the  gregarious  quadrupeds  frequently  set 
out  a  watch,  upon  whose  steady  attention  they  implicitly  rely. 
When  a  troop  of  chamois  is  grazing  in  some  Alpine  solitude, 
one  of  the  band,  stationed  at  a  short  distance,  is  seen  to  cast  an 
inquisitive  glance  around,  or  to  raise  its  head,  carefully  sniffing 
the  air,  while  the  others  are  grazing  or  tilting  at  each  other 
with  their  horns  like  frolicsome  goats  or  deer.  But  as  soon  as  the 
sentinel,  espying  danger,  utters  his  shrill  note  of  warning,  they 

BB 


370  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

suddenly  stop,  and  rapidly  follow  him  as  tie  bounds  away  from 
the  scene  of  peril. 

In  the  Peruvian  or  Bolivian  highlands,  the  she-vicunas  roam 
about  in  small  herds,  under  the  protection  and  guidance  of  a 
single  male,  who  always  remains  a  few  paces  apart  from  his 
harem,  and  keeps  watch  with  the  most  sedulous  attention.  At 
the  least  sign  of  danger,  he  immediately  gives  the  alarm  by  a 
shrill  cry,  and  rapidly  steps  forward.  The  herd,  immediately 
assembling,  turns  inquisitively  towards  the  side  whence  danger  is 
apprehended,  advances  a  few  paces,  and  then,  suddenly  wheeling, 
flies,  at  first  slowly,  and  constantly  looking  back,  but  soon  with 
unrivalled  swiftness.  The  male  covers  the  retreat,  frequently 
standing  still  and  watching  the  enemy. 

Many  of  the  monkeys  likewise  set  out  guards  while  plunder- 
ing the  fields.  Thus,  a  troop  of  baboons  will  sometimes  form  a 
long  chain,  extending  from  the  vicinity  of  their  ordinary  habi- 
tation to  the  garden  which  they  happen  to  be  engaged  in  rob- 
bing, and  pitch  the  produce  of  their  theft  from  hand  to  hand  till 
it  reaches  its  destination  in  the  mountains.  Should  any  dis- 
turbance occur,  the  guard  utters  a  loud  cry,  and  the  whole  band 
is  out  of  sight  in  an  instant. 

In  the  Alpine  solitudes,  just  below  the  region  of  perpetual  snow, 
the  social  marmot  enjoys  its  short  summer  under  the  protection 
of  a  watchful  sentinel,  who,  at  the  approach  of  any  danger,  gives 
a  shrill  whistle,  when  they  all  retire  into  their  burrows.  Trusting 
to  the  attention  of  their  guard,  they  are  seen  sporting  in  fine 
weather  about  the  neighbourhood  of  their  retreats,  where  they 
delight  in  basking  in  the  sunshine,  and  frequently  assume  an 
upright  posture,  sitting  on  their  hind-feet. 

In  a  very  different  scene,  on  the  waveworn  rocks  and  desolate 
shores  of  the  Polar  seas,  we  find  among  the  walruses  and  the 
seals  the  same  protective  instinct.  In  fine  weather  the  former 
love  to  assemble  on  the  ice,  where  they  may  be  seen  in  herds, 
consisting  occasionally  of  upwards  of  a  hundred  animals  each. 
In  these  situations  they  appear  greatly  to  enjoy  themselves, 
rolling  and  sporting  about,  and  frequently  making  the  air 
resound  with  their  bellowing,  which  bears  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  a  bull ;  but  these  wary  animals  take  the  precaution 
of  having  a  sentinel  to  warn  them  of  any  danger  to  which 
they  may  be  liable.  So  universal  seems  the  observance  of 


BIRD-GUARDIANS   OF   QUADRUPEDS.  371 

this  precaution  amongst  their  species  that  Admiral  Beechey, 
who  had  many  opportunities  of  observing  them  in  Spitsbergen, 
scarcely  ever  saw  a  herd,  however  small,  in  which  he  did  not 
notice  one  of  the  party  on  the  watch,  stretching  his  long  neck 
in  the  air  every  half-minute,  to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  muscles, 
to  survey  the  ground  about  him.  In  the  event  of  any  alarming 
appearance,  the  sentinel  begins  by  seeking  his  own  safety ;  and 
as  these  animals  always  lie  huddled  upon  one  another,  the 
motion  of  one  is  immediately  communicated  to  the  whole  group, 
who,  scrambling  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  as  fast  as  their  awkward- 
ness permits,  tumble  into  the  water,  head  first  if  possible,  but 
otherwise  in  any  position  in  which  chance  may  have  placed  them. 

Some  quadrupeds  find  a  remarkable  protection  in  the  com- 
pany of  animals  belonging  not  only  to  the  same  genus  but  to  a 
totally  different  class.  Thus  the  rhinoceros  is  frequently  ac- 
companied by  a  bird  (Buphaga  africana),  which  feasts  upon 
the  larva?  that  settle  in  his  skin.  As  the  range  of  his  small  and 
deep-set  eyes  is  impeded  by  his  horn,  he  can  only  see  what  is 
immediately  before  him,  so  that,  if  one  be  to-leeward  of  him,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  approach  within  a  few  paces.  But  the  bird  sees 
all  the  better,  and  flying  away  at  the  first  approach  of  danger, 
awakens  the  short-sighted  brute's  attention  by  a  shrill  cry  of 
warning.  In  this  manner  the  insects  which  plague  the  rhinoceros 
become  the  indirect  means  of  his  preservation  from  many 
perils,  as,  but  for  them,  his  winged  monitor  would  have  no  in- 
ducement to  seek  his  company* 

The  African  buffalo  possesses  a  similar  guardian  in  the  Textor 
erytkrorynchus.  When  the  beast  is  quietly  feeding,  the  bird 
may  frequently  be  seen  hopping  on  the  ground,  picking  up  food, 
or  sitting  on  its  back,  and  ridding  it  of  the  insects  with  which  its 
skin  is  infested.  The  sight  of  the  bird  being  much  more  acute 
than  that  of  the  buffalo,  it  is  soon  alarmed  by  the  approach  of 
any  danger ;  and  when  it  flies  up,  the  buffalos  instantly  raise 
their  heads  to  discover  the  cause  which  has  led  to  the  sudden 
flight  of  their  companion. 

The  smaller  monkeys  of  the  tropical  forests  of  America  are 
fond  of  associating  with  their  more  powerful  congeners,  in  whose 
friendly  assistance  they  find  a  compensation  for  their  own  weak- 
ness. Thus  the  saimiri  clings  to  the  back  of  the  maquisapa, 

B  B  2 


8712  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE.    ' 

who,  at  the  beginning  of  their  acquaintance,  endeavours  to  shake 
off  his  burden  ;  but,  finding  it  impossible,  soon  learns  to  love  his 
companion,  so  that,  when  the  saimiri  is  busy  chasing  insects,  his 
friend,  before  leaving  the  spot,  first  gives  him  notice  by  a 
gentle  cry. 

A  still  more  remarkably  disinterested  friendship  is  sometimes 
found  to  unite  quadrupeds  belonging  to  different  families.  There 
are  many  examples  of  lions  having  spared  the  life  of  dogs  that 
had  been  thrown  into  their  dens  for  food,  and  of  the  strongest 
affection  having  been  formed  between  them.  One  of  these 
couples  existed  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  at 
Antwerp,  and  it  was  most  interesting  to  see  the  mighty  African 
throwing  himself  on  his  back,  and  playfully  tossing  his  tiny 
friend  between  his  enormous  paws.  The  dog — a  regular  spoilt 
child — frequently  plagued  his  mighty  comrade,  though  without 
ever  making  him  impatient  or  angry. 

Even  the  breast  of  the  tiger  has  been  known  to  expand  to 
the  genial  influence  of  friendship,  and  to  entertain  feelings 
supposed  to  be  totally  alien  to  its  nature.  Captain  White,  the 
commander  of  an  English  merchantman,  having  been  presented 
with  a  tigress,  during  a  voyage  to  Cambodia,  used  to  feed  her 
every  day  with  a  live  dog.  After  playing  some  time  with  its 
victim,  as  the  cat  with  a  mouse,  the  tigress,  seizing  it  by  the 
neck,  divided  the  arteries,  and  walked  up  and  down,  lashing  with 
its  tail,  and  holding  it  in  its  mouth  while  sucking  the  blood. 
One  day  a  young  dog  was  thrown  into  the  cage,  who,  pos- 
sessed of  a  more  than  common  courage,  and  resolved  not  to 
submit  quietly  to  his  fate,  jumped  up  to  the  tigress,  and  bit  her 
in  the  nose.  An  instant  death  might  have  been  expected  to  be 
the  punishment  of  this  audacity  ;  but  the  impotent  fury  of  the 
little  dog  seemed  to  please  the  formidable  brute,  who,  gently 
warding  off  the  attack,  endeavoured  by  her  caresses  to  gain  the 
confidence  of  her  pigmy  adversary.  In  a  short  time  friendship 
was  established,  and  the  two  became  inseparable. 

The  instinctive  attachment  of  the  domestic  animals  to  man 
is  of  the  highest  importance  to  his  welfare,  as  otherwise  they 
would  hardly  have  so  patiently  submitted  to  bis  yoke,  or  so 
willingly  obeyed  his  commands.  How  could  he  have  tamed  them? 
How  could  he  have  trusted  them,  if  they  had  not  been  impelled 
by  their  nature  to  seek  his  company — to  become,  not  his  unwil- 


THE   AFFECTIONS   OF   BRUTES.  373 

ling  slaves,  but  his  grateful  and  affectionate  servants  ?  Hence 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  feeling  has  been  implanted  in 
them  with  a  view  to  his  benefit,  for  their  services  are  all  the 
more  valuable  for  being  cheerfully  rendered.  The  dog  is  pre- 
eminent for  this  inborn  attachment  to  man.  In  South  America 
there  are  numerous  wild  dogs  that  have  enjoyed  the  liberty  of 
the  savannah  for  several  centuries ;  they  descend  from  European 
dogs,  and  have  multiplied  in  the  wilderness,  where  they  roam 
about  like  beasts  of  prey.  In  the  East,  particularly  in  Egypt, 
there  are  also  many  masterless  dogs,  almost  equally  savage  ;  but 
in  both  places  these  wild  dogs,  -when  caught,  and  treated  with 
kindness,  soon  become  tame,  and  as  attached  to  their  masters  as 
those  dogs  which  have  been  the  trusty  companions  of  man 
through  a  long  series  of  generations.  A  similar  affection  is 
testified  by  the  horse ;  and  even  the  poor  ass  is  not  only  a  pattern 
of  submissive  meekness,  but  is  susceptible  of  great  attachment 
towards  his  master,  whom  it  will  scent  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, distinguish  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd,  and  faithfully 
follow. 

But  besides  the  animals  which  are  particularly  formed  to 
be  the  companions  of  man,  even  the  wild  denizens  of  the  forest, 
whom  he  has  deprived  of  their  liberty,  soon  grow  attached 
to  his  rule  when  treated  with  humanity  and  kindness.  Many 
instances  of  the  attachment  of  lions  and  other  carnivorous 
animals  to  their  keepers  might  be  cited,  and  it  is  very  much 
to  be  doubted  whether  any  mammalian  exists  of  so  ferocious 
or  so  stubborn  a  nature  as  to  be  totally  untameable. 

Quadrupeds,  being  thus  open  to  friendship,  may  also  naturally 
be  expected  to  display  the  sentiments  of  parental,  filial,  and  con- 
nubial affection.  Monkeys  are  peculiarly  fond  of  their  young ; 
they  tend  and  watch  them  in  the  most  singular  manner,  arid 
appear  to  pursue  a  plan  both  as  to  their  nurture  and  educa- 
tion, often  severely  correcting  them  if  stubborn  or  disinclined 
to  profit  by  their  example. 

The  ice-bear,  the  dread  and  terror  of  all  other  animals 
that  come  within  its  reach,  is  remarkable  for  the  strength 
of  its  parental  affection;  and  this  same  passion  inspires  the 
most  timid  ruminants  in  the  hour  of  danger  with  an  almost  pre- 
ternatural courage.  Then  the  hind  forgets  her  usual  caution 
in  the  resolute  defence  of  her  offspring,  and  boldy  confronts  the 


374  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

hunter  for  the  purpose  of  diverting  his  attention  from  her 
young ;  then  the  she-buffalo  will  rush  at  the  tiger,  and  baffle 
the  monster  by  the  fury  of  her  onset. 

The  marine  tribes  are  no  less  distinguished  for  parental 
affection  than  the  land  quadrupeds.  The  females  of  the  Arctic 
walrus,  if  attacked  on  the  ice,  always  first  secure  the  safety  of 
their  young  by  casting  them  into  the  sea,  and  then,  return- 
ing to  their  enemy,  give  vent  to  their  rage.  The  Greenland 
whale  is  extremely  attached  to  her  young,  and  often  rushes  into 
the  most  imminent  danger,  and  even  upon  certain  death,  to 
rescue  or  defend  it.  The  whalers  take  advantage  of  this  affec- 
tionate attachment,  and  strike  with  the  harpoon  the  young 
whale,  quite  sure  that  the  mother  will  before  long  approach  for 
the  purpose  of  saving  her  offspring,  but  too  frequently,  in  fact, 
to  perish  with  it. 

The  affection  of  the  female  opossum  and  of  the  other  mar- 
supial quadrupeds  is  aided  by  the  pouch  which  Nature  has  so 
curiously  contrived  within  herself.  Here  the  young — which, 
when  first  born,  are  in  a  very  undeveloped  state,  being  minute, 
blind,  naked,  and  shapeless — remain  constantly  adhering  to  the 
teats,  which  their  mouth  is  just  large  enough  to  embrace,  for 
fifty  days,  until  they  have  attained  the  size  of  a  mouse,  at 
which  period  their  eyes  are  opened,  and  their  bodies  are  covered 
with  hair.  They  may  now  be  seen  venturing  occasionally  from 
their  hiding-place,  which,  however,  still  continues  to  afford 
them  nourishment  and  shelter;  there  they  find  a  warm  bed 
during  the  cold  nights ;  there,  when  they  are  hungry  and  thirsty, 
they  seek  the  sources  of  refreshment ;  there  they  fly,  as  into  a 
harbour  of  refuge,  at  the  least  apprehension  of  danger. 
.  Our  admiration  increases  when  we  come  to  examine  more 
closely  the  beautiful  harmony  between  the  structure  of  the 
mother  and  that  of  her  new-born  offspring — a  harmony  designed 
with  especial  reference  to  each  other's  peculiar  condition,  and 
thus  affording  the  most  conclusive  evidence  of  Creative  fore- 
sight. 

Although  the  new-born  opossum  or  kangaroo  is  enabled  by 
the  muscular  power  of  its  lips  to  grasp  and  adhere  firmly  to  the 
nipple,  it  seems  to  be  unable  to  draw  sustenance  therefrom  by 
its  own  unaided  efforts.  The  mother  is  therefore  provided  with 
the  peculiar  adaptation  of  a  muscle  to  the  mammary  gland,  for 


MAESUPIALS   AND   THEIR   YOUNG.  375 

the  evident  purpose  of  injecting  the  milk  from  the  nipple  into 
the  mouth  of  the  adherent  foetus.  But,  as  it  can  scarcely  be 
supposed  that  the  efforts  of  suction  should  always  coincide  with 
the  maternal  act  of  injection,  and  thus  suffocation  might  easily 
ensue  unless  the  aperture  of  the  windpipe  were  guarded  by 
some  special  contrivance,  we  find  the  latter  projecting,  as  in 
the  cetaceans,  into  the  nasal  cavity,  where  it  is  closely  em- 
braced by  the  muscles  of  the  soft  palate.  The  air-passage  being 
thus  completely  separated  from  the  fauces,  the  injected  milk 
passes  in  a  divided  stream  on  either  side  the  windpipe  to  the 
gullet ;  and  the  little  creature  breathes  and  sucks  at  the  same 
time,  without  one  of  these  vital  functions  ever  interfering  with 
the  other ! 

A  circumstance  well  worthy  of  remark  is,  that  in  the  animals 
parental  affection  and  filial  attachment  last  no  longer  than  the 
necessity  of  maternal  care.  As  soon  as  the  young  are  able  to 
provide  for  themselves,  as  soon  as  they  can  play  their  part  in 
the  world  without  any  further  assistance,  repulsive  coldness,  or 
even  enmity,  takes  the  place  of  former  tenderness,  and  creatures 
until  then  inseparable  depart  from  each  other  as  perfect 
strangers.  This  limited  extent  of  animal  feeling  is  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  limited  sphere  of  animal  existence. 

The  services  which  the  quadrupeds  render  to  man  are  of 
such  paramount  importance  that  without  their  assistance  he 
never  could  have  become  a  civilised  being.  As  the  existence 
of  the  animals  in  general  depends  upon  that  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  and  as  among  the  animals  each  higher  grade  of 
organisation  rests  upon  the  foundation  of  an  inferior  type,  so 
without  the  possession  of  his  domestic  cattle,  man  could  never 
have  risen  to  the  superior  rank  he  occupies  among  the  denizens 
of  the  earth.  In  fact,  they  are  almost  as  essential  to  the  per- 
fection of  his  being  as  his  reason  itself,  as  without  them  he 
never  could  have  developed  his  rational  faculties;  and  thus 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  have  been  specially  formed  for 
his  service.  What  would  agriculture  be  without  the  horse  or 
the  ox  ?  and  what  would  England  be  without  agriculture  ? — the 
dwelling-place  of  a  few  skin-clad  barbarians ! 

In  many  countries  the  very  existence  of  man  depends  upon 
the  possession  of  a  single  mammalian.  The  Bedouin  cannot  be 
thought  of  without  the  dromedary,  or  the  Samoyede  without  the 


376  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

reindeer ;  the  life  of  the  Eskimo  is  bound  to  that  of  the  seal 
or  the  walrus,  and  the  Indian  hunter  would  disappear  from  the 
face  of  the  earth  if  the  deer  were  no  longer  to  range  the  forest, 
or  the  bison  to  scour  the  boundless  prairie.  The  chase  of  the 
whale,  of  the  seals,  and  of  several  other  animals,  not  only  plays 
an  important  part  in  the  annals  of  commerce  but  forms  a  con- 
spicuous feature  in  the  history  of  the  human  race,  as  it  has 
influenced  the  destiny  of  numerous  nations,  and  contributed 
more  than  anything  else  to  bring  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
earth  within  the  influence  of  European  civilisation.  The  sable 
was  the  magnet  which  led  the  Eussians  from  Siberia  to  Kamt- 
schatka,  and  the  still  more  valuable  sea-otter  conducted  them 
to  the  Aleiitic  chain,  and  to  the  opposite  coast  of  America,  as 
the  seal  attracted  them  to  the  desolate  solitudes  of  the  Sea  of 
Behring.  The  English  and  American  whalers  have  followed 
the  huge  cetaceans  both  into  the  icy  channels  of  Baffin's  Bay 
and  the  Antarctic  Ocean ;  and  it  is  highly  probable  that,  but 
for  the  sperm-whale,  the  South  Sea  islanders  would  have  re- 
mained until  now  in  total  seclusion  from  the  rest  of  mankind. 
Thus  Providence  has  made  use  of  a  few  animals  as  the  in- 
struments for  extending  the  intellectual  horizon  of  man,  and 
for  rendering  the  most  inhospitable  countries  tributary  to  his 
wants ! 

As  the  mammalia  are  his  nearest  relations,  in  a  physical 
point  of  view,  they  are  also  endowed  with  an  intelligence 
superior  to  that  of  the  other  animals,  and  not  seldom  prompting 
them  to  actions  which  seem  rather  to  belong  to  the  sphere  of 
reason  than  to  that  of  brutal  instinct.  The  chimpanzee,  for 
instance,  will  lock  and  unlock  a  door  or  drawer,  will  thread  any 
needle,  and  cannot  be  taken  in  by  the  same  thing  twice. 

A  dog  in  a  monastery,  perceiving  that  the  monks  received 
their  meals  by  rapping  at  a  buttery-door,  contrived  to  do  so  like- 
wise, and,  when  the  allowance  was  pushed  through,  and  the  door 
shut,  ran  off  with  it.  This  was  repeated  till  the  theft  was  detected. 

Another  dog,  belonging  to  Mr.  Taylor,  a  clergyman  who  lived 
at  Colton,  near  Wolseley  Bridge,  was  accused  of  killing  many 
sheep.  Complaints  were  made  to  his  master,  who  asserted  that 
the  thing  was  impossible,  because  he  was  muzzled  every  night. 
The  neighbours  persisting  in  the  charge,  the  dog  one  night  was 
watched,  and  he  was  seen  to  draw  his  neck  out  of  the  muzzle, 


SAGACITY   OF   THE   HORSE.  377 

then  to  go  into  a  field  and  eat  as  much  of  a  sheep  as  satisfied 
his  appetite.  He  next  went  into  the  river  to  wash  his  mouth, 
and  returned  afterwards  to  his  kennel,  put  his  head  into  the 
muzzle  again,  and  lay  very  quietly  down  to  sleep. 

Mr.  Morand,  a  surgeon  in  Paris,  had  taken  into  his  house 
the  dog  of  a  friend  which  had  broken  its  leg,  and  good- 
naturedly  cured  it.  Some  time  after,  this  dog  scratched  at  the 
door  of  Mr.  Morand's  study,  and,  on  being  admitted,  introduced 
another  dog,  to  whom  the  same  accident  had  happened,  and  who 
could  hardly  crawl  along  after  his  guide.  The  first  dog  plainly 
showed  by  his  caresses  what  he  wanted,  and  the  surgeon,  admiring 
his  sagacity,  took  charge  of  his  protege  and  cured  him  likewise. 

Whole  volumes  might  be  filled  with  similar  well-authenticated 
instances  of  the  dog's  intelligence ;  and  it  is  surely  not  one  of 
the  least  interesting  Harmonies  of  Nature  that  the  animal  which, 
by  its  courage,  fidelity,  attachment,  and  obedience,  is  most 
fitted  to  be  the  companion  of  man  should  also  have  been  gifted 
with  a  sagacity  necessary  to  give  their  full  value  to  all  its  other 
qualities.  The  ox  is  able  to  perform  his  patient  duties  without 
any  great  display  of  intelligence;  docility  and  obedience,  in 
addition  to  considerable  muscular  strength,  were  all  the  qualities 
he  required  to  play  his  part  among  our  household  animals ; 
while  the  nobler  horse,  destined  for  more  brilliant  though  not 
more  useful  services,  has  been  endowed  with  a  sagacity  very 
superior  to  that  which  has  been  allotted  to  the  bovine  races. 
His  courage,  strength,  and  fleetness,  his  symmetrical  form  and 
grandeur  of  deportment,  are  unalloyed  by  any  quality  injurious 
to  other  creatures,  or  calculated  to  create  the  aversion  of  man, 
whose  orders  he  implicitly  obeys,  whose  severest  tasks  he  under- 
takes with  a  cheerful  alacrity,  and  to  whose  pleasures  he  con- 
tributes with  animation  and  delight.  He  understands  the 
words  and  the  signs  of  his  rider ;  he  knows  exactly  the  road 
he  has  once  travelled,  and  is  able  to  find  his  way  home  through 
the  darkness  of  the  night.  Like  the  dog,  he  is  sensible  of  praise 
or  reproof,  and  is  filled  with  a  generous  emulation  to  vanquish 
his  competitors  in  the  race.  Nor  is  this  all,  for,  when  called  to 
bear  our  warriors  to  the  battlefield,  nothing  can  exceed  his 
martial  ardour.  6  His  neck  is  clothed  with  thunder ;  the  glory 
of  his  .nostrils  is  terrible ;  he  paweth  the  valley,  and  rejoiceth 
in  his  strength;  he  goeth  on  to  meet  the  armed  men;  he 


378  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

mocketh  at  danger,  and  is  not  affrighted,  neither  turneth  he 
back  from  the  sword.' 

As  the  elephant  surpasses  all  that  breathes  on  dry  land  in 
bulk  and  muscular  power,  his  mental  faculties  also  assign  to  him 
one  of  the  first  places  in  the  animal  creation.  When  tamed  he 
becomes  the  most  gentle  and  obedient  of  all  domestic  quadru- 
peds, and  in  most  cases  is  exceedingly  fond  of  his  keeper,  and 
soon  learns  to  distinguish  the  various  tones  of  the  human  voice, 
as  expressive  of  anger,  approbation,  or  command.  His  strength 
is  rendered  doubly  serviceable  to  man  by  the  intelligence  he 
evinces  in  its  use.  He  will  load  a  boat  with  amazing  dexterity, 
carefully  keeping  all  the  articles  dry,  and  disposing  them  where 
they  ought  to  be  placed.  In  propelling  wheel-carriages  heavily 
laden  up  a  declivity,  he  pushes  them  forward  with  his  forehead 
and  supports  them  with  his  knees. 

In  Ceylon,  where  the  elephants  are  frequently  employed  in 
dragging  and  piling  felled  timber,  they  manifest  an  intelligence 
and  dexterity  which  is  surprising  to  a  stranger,  because  the 
sameness  of  the  operation  enables  them  to  go  on  for  hours  dis- 
posing of  log  after  log,  almost  without  a  hint  or  direction  from 
their  overseers.  Sir  E.  Tennent  mentions  two  elephants  thus 
employed  in  the  yards  attached  to  the  Commissariat  Stores  at 
Colombo,  who  accomplished  their  work  with  equal  precision 
and  with  greater  rapidity  than  if  it  had  been  accomplished  by 
dock-labourers.  When  the  pile  attained  a  certain  height,  and 
they  were  no  longer  able  by  their  conjoint  efforts  to  raise  one 
of  the  heavy  logs  of  ebony  to  the  summit,  they  had  been  taught 
to  lean  two  pieces  against  the  heap,  up  the  inclined  plane  of 
which  they  gently  rolled  the  remaining  logs  and  placed  them 
trimly  on  the  top. 

The  docility  of  the  elephant  is  all  the  more  surprising,  as  he 
is  always  originally  the  freeborn  son  of  the  forest  (for  he  never 
propagates  in  a  state  of  captivity),  and  is  often  advanced  in 
years  before  being  obliged  to  change  the  independence  of  the 
woods  for  the  yoke  of  thraldom ;  while  the  dog  has  been  the 
companion  of  man  through  many  ages,  and  the  acquired  habits 
of  successive  generations  have  gradually  moulded  his  physical 
and  moral  type  to  domesticity.  What  services  might  not  be 
expected  from  an  animal  so  sagacious  as  the  elephant,  were  we 
able  to  train  the  species  as  we  do  the  individual ! 


WINTER   SLEEP   OF   ANIMALS.  379 

The  mammalia  are  protected  in  various  ways  against  the 
severe  winter  of  the  higher  latitudes.  Although  they  cannot, 
like  the  birds,  exchange  in  a  few  days  the  chilly  north  for  the 
mildness  of  a  southern  sky,  yet  many  of  them  wander  at  the 
approach  of  the  dreary  season  of  cold  and  famine  to  a  more 
hospitable  clime.  Then  the  musk-ox  leaves  the  naked  barren 
grounds  of  Arctic  America  for  the  less  inclement  forests ;  and 
the  wild  reindeer  quits  the  flat  coasts  of  the  Polar  Sea,  where  the 
mosses  of  the  tundra  provided  him  with  his  summer  food,  to  seek 
in  the  thick  pinewoods  of  Siberia  a  better  shelter  against  the 
terrible  blasts  of  the  snowstorm. 

Other  quadrupeds  fly  from  the  winter  into  caverns  or  burrows, 
where  they  partly  live  upon  the  provisions  which  an  admirable 
instinct  taught  them  to  collect  during  the  summer,  and  partly 
fall  into  a  profound  sleep,  from  which  they  only  awaken  at  the 
return  of  spring. 

What  would  become  of  the  slow  marmot  during  the  winter, 
when  Alpine  vegetation  lies  buried  under  a  thick  bed  of  snow, 
if  bounteous  Providence  had  not  protected  it  by  a  deep  lethargy 
both  against  the  pangs  of  hunger  (for  its  scanty  pasture-grounds 
can  only  provide  for  the  summer)  and  the  attacks  of  the 
numerous  enemies  to  whom  it  would  infallibly  have  fallen  a 
prey  if  obliged  to  migrate  from  its  mountain  solitudes? 
In  early  autumn  it  begins  to  excavate  its  winter  dwelling, 
into  which  it  retires  with  its  whole  family  after  the  first  snow- 
fall; and,  after  having  closed  the  opening  from  within  with 
stones,  earth,  and  moss,  lies  down  for  its  long  rest  of  many 
months. 

By  a  most  admirable  ordination  of  Providence  its  life  is  now 
reduced  to  the  lowest  ebb,  that  it  may  be  preserved  from  total 
extinction.  Its  respiration  becomes  so  slow  that,  during  its  six 
months  of  sleep,  it  draws  its  breath  less  frequently  than  during 
two  days  of  its  active  existence,  so  that  the  fat  which,  during 
the  abundance  of  summer,  had  collected  upon  its  bones,  suffices 
to  keep  up  the  glimmering  spark  of  life.  The  palpitation  of 
the  heart  is  scarcely  perceptible ;  the  temperature  of  the  body 
sinks  to  a  few  degrees  above  the  freezing-point;  the  limbs  are 
stiff,  and  almost  totally  insensible  to  injury. 

Thus  in  their  deep  burrows,  imbedded  in  soft  hay,  the 
marmots  remain  from  October  to  the  end  of  April,  when  they 


380  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

are  awakened  from  tlieir  torpidity  by  the  warm  sun  of  spring. 
But  who  tells  them  in  their  nightly  caverns  that  the  snow  has 
disappeared  from  the  turf  where  they  spent  a  summer  of  en- 
joyment? How  do  they  know  that  it  is  now  time  to  exchange 
darkness  for  light,  and  that  the  aromatic  Alpine  herbs — their 
delightsome  food — are  once  more  clothing  the  mountain-ledge 
with  verdure  ?  Their  awakening  at  the  right  time  from  their 
lethargy  is  as  wonderful  as  their  faculty  of  falling  into  that 
deep  sleep  which  carries  them  so  softly  over  the  dreary  winter, 
and  changes  distress  and  want  into  repose  and  ease.  Though 
buried  for  months  under  the  snow,  winter  is  to  them  an  un- 
known season,  and,  like  the  animals  of  warmer  climates,  their 
whole  active  life  is  spent  in  pleasure  and  abundance.  Thus 
Providence  has  consulted  not  only  their  safety  but  their  happi- 
ness ;  and  indeed,  on  examining  the  whole  series  of  the  quad- 
rupeds, we  shall  find  that  the  chequered  scene  of  their  existence 
inclines  to  the  sunny  side. 

The  sloth,  clinging  to  his  branch,  will  express  his  satisfaction 
for  hours  together  by  a  kind  of  purring ;  and  even  the  bats— 
the  emblems  of  melancholy — may  frequently  be  seen  chasing 
each  other  in  some  secluded  spot,  and  merrily  piping  during 
their  playful  evolutions. 

The  sprightliness  of  the  dolphin  is  proverbial,  and  has  fre- 
quently been  celebrated  by  both  ancient  and  modern  poets. 
His  lively  troops  often  accompany,  for  days  together,  the  track 
of  a  ship,  and  agreeably  interrupt  the  monotony  of  a  long  sea- 
voyage.  As  if  in  mockery  of  the  most  rapid  sailer,  they  shoot 
past  so  as  to  vanish  from  the  eye,  and  then  return  again  with 
the  same  lightninglike  velocity.  Their  spirits  are  so  brisk  that 
they  frequently  leap  into  the  air,  as  if  longing  to  enjoy  them- 
selves in  a  lighter  fluid. 

The  leviathan  cetaceans  likewise  love  to  indulge  in  sportive 
humours.  A  crowd  of  gregarious  sperm-whales  may  be  seen 
gambolling  about  on  the  vast  wastes  of  the  Pacific  as  lightly 
as  the  dolphin  in  the  more  confined  waters  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. They  will  often  swim  in  long  lines,  rhythmically 
sinking  and  rising  as  they  rapidly  proceed  in  their  undu- 
lating course,  or  bask  and  sleep  upon  the  surface,  spouting 
leisurely,  and  exhibiting  every  indication  of  being  at  home. 
Sometimes  a  peculiarly  high-spirited  individual  will  jump  out 


HAPPINESS   OF   THE   BKUTE   CREATION.  381 

of  the  water  and  remain  suspended  for  a  moment  in  the  air,  as 
if  desirous  of  exhibiting  his  colossal  size  to  the  astonished  sea- 
birds.  On  falling  back  again  into  his  congenial  element,  high 
foam- crested  fountains  spout  forth  on  all  sides,  and  great 
waves  spread  in  widening  circles  over  the  sea.  Or  else  he 
raises  his  bulky  head  vertically  on  high,  so  that  the  deceived 
mariner  fancies  he  sees  some  black  rock  looming  out  of  the 
distant  waters.  But  suddenly  the  fancied  cliff  begins  to 
move,  and  brandishes  .playfully  its  enormous  flukes  in  the 
air,  or  lashes  the  waters  with  such  prodigious  power  that  the 
sound  rolls  far  away  like  thunder  over  the  deserts  of  the  ocean. 

On  the  icy  shores  of  Spitzbergen,  the  walrus  bellows  with 
delight  while  basking  in  the  sun,  and  the  sea-caves  of  Orcadia 
frequently  resound  with  the  joyful  bark  of  the  seal.  On 
ascending  from  the  banks  of  the  ocean  to  the  Alpine  snows, 
we  meet  with  similar  expressions  of  happiness  among  the 
brute  creation.  There  the  timid  marmot  is  seen  playing 
with  his  comrades ;  and  there,  amidst  precipices  almost  inac- 
cessible to  man,  the  chamois  sportively  push  each  other  with  their 
horns,  or  gambol  about,  revelling  in  their  mountain  liberty. 

In  one  word,  wherever  we  roam  over  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
we  find  that  in  their  wild  state  the  quadrupeds  are  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  large  share  of  happiness.  They  have  indeed 
frequently  to  suffer  from  illness,  privation,  or  the  persecutions 
of  their  enemies,  for  no  created  being  is  exempt  from  pain ; 
but  much  more  frequently  they  enjoy  the  present  without  being 
troubled,  like  man,  either  by  cares  for  the  future,  or  the  remem- 
brance of  the  past.  It  is  only  in  the  domesticated  state  that  the 
life  of  many  a  poor  horse  or  dog  is  an  uninterrupted  chain  of 
misery,  to  the  shame  of  his  barbarous  master.  When  will  at 
length  the  reign  of  justice  begin  also  for  the  animals  ?  When 
will  the  precepts  of  our  Divine  Eedeemer  be  so  universally  and 
deeply  engrafted  in  the  breast  of  man,  that  he  will  learn  not 
only  to  love  his  brother  but  to  extend  his  charity  to  every 
creature  dependent  on  his  power  ? 


382  THE   HAEMONIES   OF  NATURE. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

MAN. 

Pre-eminence  of  Man — His  Greatness  and  his  Weakness — The  Brain  of  Man — Tho 
Telegraphic  System  of  the  Nerves — The  Optic  Nerve — The  Organs  of  Hearing, 
Taste,  Smelling,  and  Touch — Spinal  Nerves — Motile  Nerves — Sympathetic 
Nerves — The  Human  Hand — Its  Harmony  with  the  Intellectual  Faculties  of 
Man — Differences  in  the  Limbs  of  the  Ape  and  Man — Man's  Upright  Walk — 
His  Privileges  and  his  Duties. 

THE  star-spangled  heavens,  the  brilliant  sun,  the  magnificent 
ocean  with  its  constantly-returning  tides,  the  numberless  plants 
which  ornament  our  earth,  and  the  vast  hosts  of  animals  that 
find  their  subsistence  upon  her  teeming  surface,  are  all  most 
splendid  monuments  of  the  Creator's  power ;  but,  as  far  as  we 
are  able  to  probe  the  secrets  of  the  universe,  Man  is  beyond  all 
doubt  the  most  wonderful,  the  most  perfect  of  His  works.  For 
the  stars  wander  through  the  heavens  unconscious  of  their  own 
magnificence ;  the  sun  knows  not  that  but  for  him  countless 
beings  would  sink  into  night  and  death;  the  ocean  is  blind 
to  the  majesty  of  his  rolling  waves,  and  deaf  to  their  awful 
music ;  the  flower  spreads  its  sweet  odours,  or  enrobes  itself  in 
every  hue  of  the  rainbow  without  any  conception  of  its  loveli- 
ness ;  the  animal's  feelings  are  confined  to  the  present  moment 
with  its  joys  or  sorrows:  but  the  eye  of  man  darts  into  the 
boundless  future  and  the  illimitable  past,  and  the  vast  range  of 
his  mind  embraces  the  universe,  and  rises  from  the  visible  world 
to  the  throne  of  the  invisible  God — from  whose  unspeakable 
goodness,  wisdom,  and  power  all  those  stupendous  works  have 
emanated  !  And  it  is  not  only  the  infinite  external  world  that 
lies  open  to  the  mind  of  man ;  he  also  penetrates  into  the  mys- 
teries of  his  own  being,  watches  attentively  all  the  movements 
of  his  soul,  and  carries  in  himself  the  judge  of  all  his  actions, 
thoughts,  and  sensations. 


THE   HUMAN   BEAIN.  383 

A  wonderful  organ — the  brain — is  the  seat  or  the  instrument 
of  the  astonishing  mental  faculties  of  man,  the  link  or  mediator 
between  our  body  and  our  soul,  between  the  material  and  the 
immaterial,  the  external  and  the  internal  world.  Here  resides 
our  memory,  which  so  marvellously  resuscitates  the  past ;  our 
fancy,  whose  constantly-changing  pictures  enliven  and  beautify 
our  life;  our  judgment,  which  penetrates  the  mysteries  of 
Nature,  and  weighs  causes  and  effects ;  our  sensibility,  with  its 
multifarious  passions  and  feelings ;  our  will,  whose  commands 
flash  with  electric  speed  through  our  whole  body,  or  oppose  a 
strong  barrier  to  our  inclinations. 

How  small  is  our  brain,  and  yet  how  immense  the  sphere  of 
its  activity !  How  many  thoughts  and  pictures,  and  resolutions 
and  sensations,  cross  it  in  the  space  of  a  single  day !  And  as  on 
the  bosom  of  the  sea,  sunshine  and  shade,  and  storms  and  calms, 
are  perpetually  alternating,  thus  also  this  restless  organ,  in  which 
so  many  divine  powers  and  noble  aspirations  are  blended  with 
so  many  base  desires,  is  the  scene  of  perpetual  changes  ! 

And  how  various  its  scope  and  bias  in  different  individuals : 
in  the  assassin,  planning  his  midnight  murder,  so  that  the  blow 
may  not  recoil  upon  himself;  or  in  a  Newton,  meditating  on  the 
laws  that  govern  worlds ;  in  the  sober  man  of  business,  who 
carefully  shuts  out  all  fancy  from  his  reasonings ;  or  in  the 
poet — 

Whose  eye  in  a  fine  frenzy  rolling, 

Glances  from  heaven  to  earth,  from  earth  to  heaven  ! 

Who  can  paint  the  happiness,  the  bliss,  that  finds  room  in  the 
little  human  brain;  or  the  nameless  sorrow,  the  comfortless 
despair,  which  there  takes  up  its  abode  ? 

An  organ  so  wonderfully  gifted  for  the  extremes  of  light  and 
shade  may  well  be  called  a  little  world  in  itself;  but  as  the  most 
costly  vases  are  most  liable  to  injury,  thus  also  a  trifle  suffices 
to  destroy  the  faculties  of  this  masterpiece  of  creation.  Whilo 
wafted  along  by  the  full-tide  of  his  successful  ambition,  or  soar- 
ing aloft  in  the  highest  flight  of  his  fancy,  or  plunged  in  his 
deepest  meditations,  or  fascinating  his  hearers  by  the  noblest  flow 
of  his  eloquence — the  statesman,  the  poet,  the  philosopher,  the 
orator,  is  suddenly  struck  with  apoplexy;  and  that  masterly 
policy,  that  blooming  imagination,  that  profound  wisdom,  that? 


384  THE  HARMONIES  OF  NATURE. 

sublime  power  of  speech,  which  raised  their  gifted  possessors  so 
high  above  the  vulgar  crowd,  are  blotted  out  at  once ;  for 
though  death  may  delay  to  strike  its  victim,  yet  the  mental 
powers  are  generally  laid  low  for  ever,  and  the  object  of  uni- 
versal admiration  or  envy  lives  but  to  be  pitied.  Thus  in  the 
brain,  both  the  strength  and  the  weakness  of  man  appear  in 
their  fullest  light ;  and,  should  his  vast  superiority  over  the 
animal  creation,  his  exalted  position  as  lord  of  the  earth,  awaken 
his  pride,  the  rapidity  with  which  an  accident — a  blow,  a  con- 
cussion, the  rupture  of  a  bloodvessel — may  precipitate  him 
from  the  pinnacle  of  his  intellectual  life  may  well  teach  him  to 
be  humble. 

We  know  with  the  utmost  certainty  that  the  brain  is  the  seat, 
the  physical  or  material  organ,  of  our  intellectual  faculties ; 
but  the  internal  mechanism  of  this  admirable  laboratory  of 
thought  and  feeling  is  totally  unknown  to  us. 

We  know  that  from  the  fishes  and  reptiles  upwards,  through 
the  long  series  of  birds  and  mammalian  quadrupeds  to  man, 
the  brain  increases  in  size  and  development  with  the  growth  of 
intelligence,  but  science  has  not  yet  been  able  to  sound  the 
depth  of  its  recesses. 

The  knife  of  the  anatomist  shows  us  no  remarkable  difference 
between  the  brain  of  the  greatest  and  of  the  lowest  of  mankind ; 
the  chemist  finds  in  every  cerebral  organ  the  same  substances ; 
and  the  microscope  sees  everywhere  the  same  inextricable 
labyrinth  of  delicate  fibres  and  intermingled  globules,  that  unite 
and  separate,  and  appear  and  disappear  again  in  a  formless 
mass.  In  one  word,  the  brain  so  well  conceals  its  secrets 
that  their  discovery  seems  totally  impossible,  and  man  may 
perhaps  sooner  be  able  to  fathom  the  structure  of  the  universe 
than  that  of  the  mysterious  instrument  of  his  own  thoughts  and 
sensations. 

Inclosed  in  a  shell  of  solid  bone,  and  thus  shielded  from  many 
dangers,  the  brain  receives  the  impressions  of  the  external 
world,  or  reacts  against  them  through  the  agency  or  channel 
of  the  nerves — whose  delicate  filaments,  ramifying  through 
the  whole  body,  either  transmit  its  orders  or  act  as  faithful 
messengers  of  what  is  going  on  without.  The  nerves  which 
communicate  external  impressions  to  the  brain  are  called  sensi- 
tive nerves,  and  of  these  the  optic  nerves  command  the  widest 


THE    EYE   OF   MAN.  385 

range  of  observation.  Originating  in  the  optic  thalami,  two 
round  eminences  situated  to  the  right  and  left  at  the  basis  of 
the  brain,  they  cross  each  other ;  and  then  each  of  them,  proceed- 
ing to  the  eye  for  which  it  is  destined,  spreads  out  into  a  mem- 
brane gifted  with  marvellous  powers — a  truly  magical  mirror, 
which,  assisted  by  the  most  wonderful  optical  contrivances,  ex- 
hibits to  the  mind  a  faithful  picture  of  the  external  world  in  all 
its  infinite  varieties  of  form  and  colour.  On  this  small  surface  a 
vast  prospect  reflects  itself  with  photographic  distinctness,  and 
our  mind  receives  the  impression,  and  translates  immediately  the 
little  picture  into  the  vast  reality,  and  steps,  as  it  were,  out  of 
its  own  frame  into  the  wide  space  submitted  to  its  view.  The 
charms  of  a  splendid  landscape,  the  magnificence  of  the  ocean, 
the  awful  grandeur  of  the  heavens,  may  well  strike  us  with 
admiration ;  but  if  custom  had  not  made  us  too  familiar  with 
the  inexplicable  wonders  of  our  own  organisation,  we  should 
be  no  less  enraptured  with  the  amazing  instrument  which 
thus  wonderfully  reveals  to  us  the  beauties  of  the  external 
world.  What  a  surprising  delicacy  of  sensation  \  how  perfect 
a  structure !  and  how  admirable  the  strength  of  the  healthy 
eye,  before  whose  crystal  mirror  picture  follows  upon  picture 
for  hours  together,  without  its  ever  being  fatigued,  or  losing 
anything  of  the  sharpness  of  its  perceptions ! 

From  another  part  of  the  basis  of  the  brain  proceed  two  other 
nerves,  differently  though 
no  less  admirably  gifted. 
These  penetrate  on  each 
side  into  a  cavity  of  the 
skull,  forming  the  hard 
solid  case  of  a  most  cu- 
riously-constructed appa- 
ratus, which  every  vibra- 
tion of  the  air  sets  into 
a  corresponding  motion. 
Here,  in  a  bony  struc- 
ture very  similar  to  a 

,    ,-        .         .  Expansion  of  the  Acoustic  Nerve.    (Magnified.) 

snails    shell,   the    innu- 
merable filaments  of  the  acoustic  nerves  expand  into  a  spiral 
membrane,  which,  stimulated  by  the  vibrations  of  the  sounding 

cc 


386  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

apparatus,  instantly  communicate  the  impressions  they  have 
received  with  the  most  admirable  precision  to  the  brain. 

While  the  optic  nerve  holds  up  to  us  the  magic  mirror  in 
which  Nature  appears  in  all  her  beauty,  the  auditive  nerve 
opens  to  our  perception  the  wondrous  realms  of  sound.  The 
undulating  atmospherical  vibrations  produced  by  the  voices  of 
a  choral  band,  or  by  the  instruments  of  an  orchestra,  strike  its 
delicate  membranes  and  awaken  musical  sensations,  which, 
transmitted  to  the  soul,  attune  it  to  joy  or  to  sorrow,  rouse 
it  to  martial  ardour,  or  exalt  it  to  feelings  of  the  deepest 
piety. 

In  a  similar  manner  the  olfactory  and  gustative  nerves, 
proceeding  from  other  parts  of  the  brain,  spread  out  like 
pieces  of  tapestry  over  the  nasal  cavities,  or  over  the  surface 
of  the  tongue  and  palate,  and,  stimulated  by  the  smelling 
gaseous  particles  that  may  be  mingled  with  the  air  we  respire, 
or  by  the  sapid  liquid  substances  we  swallow,  communicate 
their  various  impressions  to  the  brain. 

While  the  senses  of  vision,  hearing,  taste,  or  smell  thus  each 
depend  upon  a  single  pair  of  nerves  seated  in  the  brain,  and 
confined  to  a  comparatively  narrow  space,  the  sense  of  feeling 
extends  over  the  greater  part  of  the  body.  The  face,  the  mouth, 
the  nasal  cavities  feel  by  means  of  a  pair  of  nerves  proceeding, 
like  those  already  mentioned,  immediately  from  the  brain ;  but 
all  the  other  sensitive  nerves  that  ramify  over  the  body,  though 
communicating  with  that  central  organ,  first  pass  through  the 
spinal  marrow,  whose  posterior  columns  they  form,  and  which 
runs  like  a  thick  cord  from  the  brain  downwards  through  the 
spinal  canal.  From  the  spinal  marrow  they  then  emerge  at 
regular  intervals  in  thirty-one  pairs,  which,  branching  out,  each 
supply  a  certain  part  of  the  body  with  the  necessary  power  of 
feeling  external  objects.  In  those  parts  where  a  greater  nicety  of 
touch  or  acuteness  of  sensation  is  unnecessary,  or  would  have  been 
more  irksome  than  useful,  the  sensitive  fibres  are  more  thinly  scat- 
tered— as,  for  instance,  on  the  back ;  or  they  may  even  be  entirely 
wanting,  as  in  many  internal  parts  of  the  body.  Their  chief 
distribution  is  in  the  skin,  where  they  not  only  enable  us  to 
distinguish  many  of  the  physical  properties  of  external  objects — 
such  as  their  degree  of  solidity,  their  weight,  the  soft  or  rugged 
nature  of  their  surface — but  preserve  us,  moreover,  like  trusty 


THE   NERVES   OF   SENSATION, 


387 


sentinels,  from  countless  injuries.  For  how  many  dreadful 
wounds  would  be  constantly  ensuing  if  the  sensation  of  pain 
communicated  by  the  cutaneous  nerves  to  the  brain  did  not 
warn  us  to  be  careful,  or  teach  us  by  repeated  experiences  to 
guard  our  movements ! 

Thus  the  senses  connect  us  in  a  truly  marvellous  manner  with 
the  various  phenomena  of  the  external  world ;  but  the  brain  is 
meant  to  be  not  merely  a  recipient  of  sensations,  but  also  to  impel 
our  limbs  to  action;  and. this  highly  important  function  is 
likewise  performed  through  the  agency  of  peculiar  nerves,  which 
partly  emerge  from  various  small  orifices  at  the  basis  of  the 
skull,  partly  run  through  the  spinal  cord  whose  anterior  columns 
they  form.  From  these  their  fibres  emerge,  in  a  similar  manner 
with  the  sensitive  filaments,  in  thirty- 
one  pairs,  which,  soon  after  their  emis- 
sion, commingle  with  the  corresponding 
sensitive  fibres,  and  form  a  compound 
nerve,  which  distributes  its  branches 
to  the  muscles,  or  to  the  integuments 
of  a  part  of  the  body  or  the  limbs. 
Thus  each  spinal  nerve  has  two  roots,  a 
sensitive  and  a  motile  one,  and  each 
root  is  composed  of  a  large  number  of 
independent  fibres.  The  sensitive  fila- 
ments, destined  to  lead  impressions  to 
the  brain,  and  utterly  incapable  of  exe- 
cuting its  orders,  chiefly  terminate  in 
the  skin;  while  the  motile  filaments, 
destined  to  transmit  commands  from  the 
brain,  and  utterly  insensible,  terminate 
exclusively  in  the  muscles,  which  at  their 
bidding  contract  or  relax  their  hold. 

Thus  each  nervous  filament  has  its 
peculiar  task  to  perform,  and  the  salu- 
tary effects  of  the  division  of  labour 
are  nowhere  more  apparent  than  in  the  economy  of  our  body. 
What  a  dreadful  confusion  if  the  optic  nerve,  for  instance, 
had  to  be  the  mediator  of  feeling,  or  if  the  motile  nerves 
had  to  perform  the  functions  of  smelling  or  tasting ! 

c  c  2 


Origin  of  a  Spinal  Nerve. 
(Magnified.) 

A.  Anterior  root;  P.  posterior  root  ; 
G.  ganglion  on  the  posterior  roct  ; 
C.  compound  nerve  resulting  from 
the  commingling  of  the  fibres 
both  roots. 


of 


388  THE   HARMONIES   OF   NATURE. 

But  by  the  wisdom  of  Providence  the  optic  nerve  can  only 
see,  the  auditive  nerve  only  hear,  the  sensitive  nerve  only  feel, 
the  olfactory  nerve  only  smell,  the  gustatorial  nerve  only  taste, 
the  motile  nerve  only  move ;  and  thus  as  each  messenger  has 
only  one  thing  to  do,  he  cannot  possibly  interfere  with  the 
work  of  his  neighbour,  and  all  goes  on  in  the  most  beautiful 
order. 

Every  nerve  of  our  body  is  ultimately  connected  with  the 
brain,  but  not  every  nerve  obeys  its  mandates,  or  communicates 
to  it  distinct  sensations.  For  all  the  vegetative  functions  of  our 
body,  such  as  the  digestive  process,  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
the  secretions  of  the  glands,  are  under  the  control  of  a  peculiar 
system  of  nerves,  which,  though  connected  with  the  brain,  is  in 
a  great  measure  independent  of  that  central  organ,  and  executes 
its  highly  important  task  without  our  feeling  it,  or  without  our 
being  able  to  control  its  execution. 

Thus,  as  long  as  we  are  in  health,  our  digestion  goes  on  with- 
out our  being  aware  of  it;  we  cannot  bid  our  heart  to  stand 
still ;  we  breathe  without  paying  any  attention  to  the  respiratory 
process ;  the  liver  and  the  kidneys  secrete  without  our  perceiving 
their  activity  in  the  least.  This  is  evidently  a  most  bene- 
ficial arrangement,  for  how  could  our  mind  have  found  time 
or  repose  for  reflection  and  mental  improvement — how  could 
it  properly  have  fixed  its  attention  on  the  outer  world,  if 
the  brain,  besides  its  actual  tasks,  had  also  been  burdened  with 
the  direction  of  our  internal  economy  ? 

But  as  soon  as  our  organs  become  affected  with  disease,  then 
the  slumbering  sympathies  of  our  brain  are  called  forth ;  then 
sensations  of  pain,  awakening  in  parts  of  whose  existence  we 
have  but  a  dim  feeling,  inform  us  that  the  wonderful  mechanism 
of  our  body  is  out  of  order,  and  claims  repose  or  medical  assist- 
ance. 

In  spite  of  his  vast  mental  superiority,  man  would  have  con- 
stantly remained  a  most  helpless  and  miserable  creature  if  his 
limbs,  like  those  of  the  animals,  had  been  merely  made  to  serve 
for  motion,  for  climbing,  or  digging,  or  as  offensive  and  defen- 
sive weapons.  But  Providence,  which  gave  man  an  intelligence 
befitting  him  to  be  the  master  of  the  earth,  could  not  possibly 
have  left  him  without  the  mechanical  means  necessary  for 
asserting  his  dominion ;  and  thus  the  anterior  extremities,  which 


MAN  AND  THE  APE  COMPARED.          389 

in  the  animals  only  serve  for  locomotion,  or  for  the  prehension 
of  food,  or  for  aggressive  or  defensive  purposes,  have  been  raised 
in  his  economy  to  be  the  instruments  of  higher  purposes,  and 
formed  so  as  to  be  able  to  execute  the  orders  of  a  rational 
j  udgment. 

The  arms  of  the  apes  or  anthropomorphous  monkeys  (as  they 
are  termed  in  systematic  phraseology)  have  indeed  some  resem- 
blance to  those  of  man ;  but  a  closer  inspection  of  their  internal 
structure  soon  brings  to  light  a  considerable  difference.  Thus 
the  lateral  movements  of  the  forearm,  which  produce  the 
pronation  and  supination  of  the  hand,  are  far  more  confined 
even  in  the  highest  apes,  who  are  incapable  of  turning  the  palm 
of  their  hand  completely  outwards,  and  of  extending  their  thumb 
to  a  considerable  distance.  The  thumb  of  the  human  hand  can 
be  brought  into  exact  opposition  to  the  extremities  of  all  the 
fingers,  whether  singly  or  in  combination ;  whilst  in  the  apes  the 
thumb  is  so  short,  and  the  fingers  so  much  elongated,  that  their 
tips  can  scarcely  be  brought  into  opposition,  and  the  thumb  and 
fingers  are  so  weak  that  they  can  never  be  opposed  to  each 
other  with  any  degree  of  force.  While  man  is  able  to  move 
each  finger  separately,  those  of  the  ape  can  only  be  bent  or 
extended  conjointly,  since  the  small  flexor  and  extensor  muscles 
of  the  individual  fingers  existing  in  the  human  hand  are  either 
entirely  wanting  or  joined  together.  Hence,  although  admi- 
rably adapted  for  clinging  round  bodies  of  a  certain  size,  such 
as  the  small  branches  of  trees,  the  extremities  of  the  apes  can 
neither  seize  very  minute  objects  with  such  precision,  nor  sup- 
port large  ones  with  such  firmness,  as  are  essential  to  the  dex- 
terous performance  of  a  variety  of  operations  for  which  the 
hand  of  man  is  beautifully  formed. 

His  naked  skin  leaves  man  defenceless  against  the  inclemen- 
cies of  the  weather,  against  heat  and  wind ;  but  the  dexterity 
of  his  hand  amply  makes  up  for  this  deficiency,  and  spins  and 
weaves  an  immense  variety  of  dresses,  which  it  adorns,  more- 
over, with  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow,  so  as  to  combine  the 
useful  with  the  agreeable.  His  weak  arm  is  incapable  of  coping 
with  the  brutes  of  the  forest,  but  with  steady  hand  he  hurls 
the  deadly  arrow,  or  sends  the  far-reaching  bullet  through 
the  air.  Though  a  very  imperfect  swimmer  he  overtakes  all 
the  denizens  of  the  ocean,  pursues  them  into  their  remotest 


390  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

haunts,  strikes  them  with  his  harpoon,  or  entangles  them  in  his 
fatal  net. 

His  hand  is  not  fossorial,  like  that  of  the  mole,  but  deep  into 
the  bowels  of  the  earth  he  sinks  his  shafts,  and  makes  himself 
master  of  her  hidden  treasures.  With  the  spade  and  the 
plough  he  loosens  her  surface,  and  forces  her  to  pay  him 
the  rich  tribute  of  her  harvests.  In  vain  do  rivers  and  moun- 
tains throw  their  obstacles  in  his  way — he  spans  his  bridges 
over  the  stream,  or  drives  his  tunnels  through  the  rock.  In 
vain  the  deeply-rooting  forest  strives  to  take  possession  of  the 
soil — his  sharp  axe  strikes  the  giants  of  the  woods,  and  levels 
them  with  the  dust. 

And  the  same  hand  which  gives  him  such  power  over  the 
remainder  of  creation  fixes  upon  the  canvas  all  the  beauties 
of  Nature  with  a  truth  of  colouring  equal  to  reality  itself,  trans- 
forms a  rough  block  of  marble  into  the  divine  form  of  an  Apollo, 
or  f  wakes  to  ecstasy  the  living  lyre.' 

As  the  anterior  extremities  of  man  are  adapted  for  prehension 
alone,  while  the  posterior  limbs  serve  exclusively  for  support 
and  progression — an  organisation  which  belongs  to  him  alone — 

thus  also  he  is  the  only  mammal 
formed  for  an  erect  attitude. 
His  head  rests  upon  his  spinal 
column  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  can  maintain  it  in  an  upright 
position  for  a  whole  day  with  so 
slight  and  involuntary  an  effort 
that  no  fatigue  is  produced 
by  it,  while  that  of  the  orang, 

Human  Skull.  J     .          .  . &' 

havmg  its  centre  of  gravity  in- 
clining to  the  front,  would  require  the  constant  action  of  mus- 
cular power  to  keep  it  upright.  The  position  of  the  face 
immediately  beneath  the  anterior  portion  of  the  cranial  cavity, 
so  that  its  front  is  nearly  in  the  same  plane  as  the  forehead,  is 
peculiarly  characteristic  of  man;  for,  as  we  see  in  the  adjoining 
illustrations,  the  cranium  of  the  orang  is  entirely  posterior  to 
and  not  above  the  face.  This  projection  of  the  apeish  muzzle  is 
another  evidence  of  want  of  adaptation  to  the  erect  posture, 
whilst  the  want  of  prominence  in  the  face  of  man  shows  that 
none  but  the  erect  position  can  be  natural  to  him.  For,  sup- 


UPKIGHT   WALK   OP   MAN. 


391 


Skull  of  the  Orang-oetan. 


posing  that,  with  a  head  formed  and  situated  as  at  present,  he 
were  to  move  upon  all- 
fours,  his  face  would  then 
be  brought  into  a  plane 
parallel  with  the  ground, 
and  as  painful  an  effort 
be  required  to  examine 
with  the  eyes  an  object 
placed  in  front  of  the 
body,  as  is  now  necessary 
to  keep  the  eyes  fixed  on 
the  zenith.  Then  also  the 
nose  would  be  almost  inca- 
pacitated for  receiving  any 
other  odorous  emanations 
than  those  proceeding  from 
the  earth,  or  from  the  body 
itself,  and  the  mouth  could  not  touch  the  ground  without 
bringing  the  forehead  and  chin  also  in  contact  with  it. 

Though  the  apes  are  able  to  adapt  the  inclination  of  their 
heads  without  much  difficulty  either  to  the  horizontal  or  to 
the  erect  posture,  yet  the  natural  position  in  the  highest  among 
them  is  unquestionably  one  in  which  the  spinal  column  is 
inclined ;  the  body  being  partially  thrown  forward  so  as  to  rest 
upon  the  anterior  extremities,  and  in  this  position  the  face  is 
directed  forwards  without  any  effort. 

The  different  formation  of  the  pelvis  in  man,  and  in  the  apes 
likewise,  shows  that,  as  the  former  has  been  made  for  an  upright 
walk,  so  the  latter  are  condemned  by  nature  to  a  grovelling 
position ;  for  while  in  man  it  is  peculiarly  broad,  and  curving 
forwards  and  upwards,  so  as  to  give  a  wide  basis  of  support  to 
the  abdominal  viscera,  it  is  much  longer  and  narrower  in  the 
apes.  The  human  foot  is,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  whole 
body,  much  larger,  broader,  and  stronger  than  that  of  the  ape ; 
its  short  stiff  toes  enable  it  to  plant  itself  more  firmly  on  the 
ground,  and  its  sole  is  concave ;  so  that  the  whole  weight  of  the 
body  falls  on  the  summit  of  an  arch,  of  which  the  heel-bone 
and  the  middle  part  of  the  foot  anterior  to  the  toes  form  the 
two  points  of  support.  This  arched  form  of  the  foot  and  the 
habitual  contact  of  the  heel-bone  with  the  ground  are  peculiar 


392  THE   HARMONIES   OF  NATURE. 

to  man  alone ;  for  all  the  apes  have  the  heel-bone  small,  straight, 
and  more  or  less  raised  from  the  ground,  which  they  touch, 
when  standing  erect,  with  the  outer  side  of  the  foot  only.  The 
longer  and  more  moveable  feet  and  toes  of  the  apes  enable 
them  to  serve  as  more  efficient  prehensile  organs,  but  this 
advantage  is  obtained  at  the  cost  of  their  capacity  to  sustain  the 
weight  of  the  body  when  it  simply  rests  upon  them. 

Many  other  anatomical  details  might  be  pointed  out  to  show 
how  man's  superiority  of  mind  has  been  made  to  harmonise 
with  its  material  instruments,  while  the  structure  of  the  ape 
corresponds  with  this  animal's  inferior  intelligence ;  but,  not  to 
fatigue  the  reader  with  what  might  be  considered  a  superfluous 
minuteness,  I  shall  merely  mention  how  strikingly  the  vast 
difference  between  the  two  shows  itself  in  the  muscular  appa- 
ratus of  the  face.  In  man  we  find  a  number  of  distinct  and 
separately  moveable  facial  muscles,  which,  by  their  infinite 
variety  of  action,  are  able  to  give  a  rapid  and  faithful  picture 
of  all  the  various  emotions  that  cross  the  soul,  even  as  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea  reflects  each  passing  cloud ;  while  in  the  ape  the 
facial  muscles,  being  far  less  individualised,  are  restricted  to 
the  gnashing  of  the  teeth,  or  to  the  pointing  and  shutting  of 
the  mouth ;  so  that  the  animal  is  only  able  to  cut  a  few  dis- 
gusting grimaces,  while  numberless  shades  of  passion,  emotion, 
and  thought  are  all  mirrored  in  the  expressive  countenance  of 
man! 

Thus  we  see  a  deep  chasm  separating  our  race  even  from 
those  animals  which  approach  it  the  nearest  in  their  outward 
form ;  for  though  the  ape  is  undoubtedly  capable  of  short  and 
simple  processes  of  reasoning  or  of  imagination,  yet  the  range 
of  his  intelligence  is  poor  indeed  when  compared  with  that  of 
the  human  mind. 

Man  alone  of  all  created  beings  earnestly  pursues  a  higher 
aim  ;  he  alone  possesses  an  innate  moral  law ;  he  alone  is  capable 
of  self-improvement,  and  preserves  his  intellectual  conquests  for 
the  benefit  of  his  posterity ;  he  alone  rises  from  this  material 
earth  into  the  immaterial  regions  of  the  spiritual  world ;  he  alone 
has  the  consciousness  of  a  future  state  !  And  for  what  purpose 
have  these  eminent  faculties  been  awarded  to  man  ?  Why  has 
the  vista  of  a  brighter  futurity  been  thus  opened  to  his  gaze  ? 
Is  he  to  rest  satisfied  with  merely  providing  for  his  bodily 


THE   AIMS   OF   HUMAN  EXISTENCE.  393 

wants  ?  Then,  indeed,  the  animals  of  the  field  are  far  better  off 
than  he,  for  they  are  able  to  find  their  food  with  far  less  trouble, 
and  know  no  care  for  the  morrow. 

But  no ;  the  nobler  faculties  of  man  evidently  point  out  to 
him  a  more  exalted  path  and  higher  duties.  Self-improve- 
ment, self-ennoblement,  emancipation  from  the  bonds  of  sensu- 
ality and  egotism — these  must  be  the  chief  aims  of  his  existence, 
and  prepare  him  for  that  more  perfect  state  of  being  of  which 
he  bears  the  promise  in  his  breast,  and  which  has  been  re- 
vealed to  him  by  the  Divinity  itself ! 


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INDEX. 


AAR 

A  ARDVAKKS,  their  burrows,  325 
JJL    Acacia  latronum,  or  buffalo  thorn, 
thorns  of  the,  68 

—  tomentosa,  jungle-nails    of  the,  68 
Acalephse,  or  jelly-fishes,  125 

—  their  internal  structure,  126 

—  their  mode  of  progression,  127 

—  alternations  of  their  generations,  127 

—  ciliograde  jelly-fishes,  128 
their  fishing  apparatus,  129 

—  tubular  acalephse,  129 

—  importance  of  acalephse  in  the  eco- 

nomy of  the  ocean,  131 
Acorn-shells,  structure  of,  175 

their  habits,  176 

Actinia  Alcyonoidea,  117 

Adelsberg,  cave  of,  crustaceans  of  the, 

183 
Aerolithes,  5 

—  enormous  number  of,  6 

—  substances  of  which  they  are  com- 

posed, 6 

Africa,  roots  of  plants  of  South,  56 
Agalma  Okenii,  129 
Air,  the  atmospheric  ocean,  16 

—  its  component  parts,  16 

—  constancy  in  its  component  parts,  16 

—  its  purity  maintained  by  the  winds, 

17 

—  dependence  of  all  terrestrial  life  upon 
the  actual  constitution  of  the  air,  18 

—  atmospheric  air  but  a  mixture,  19 

—  no  chemical  combination  of  oxygen 

and  nitrogen,  19 

—  transparency  of  the  air,  19 

—  its  influence  upon  the  mental  deve- 

lopment of  mankind,  19 

—  air  considered  as  the  bearer  of  sounds, 

19 

—  the    atmospheric    precipitations    in 

their  relation  to  organic  nature,  27 

—  harmonies  of  the  ocean  and  the  at- 

mosphere, 27 

Albatross,  his  prodigious  flight,  287 
Aldebaran,    constituents  of  the   atmo- 
sphere of,  8 
Alluvial  plains,  formation  of,  38,  39 


AVO 

Alpine-flea,  183 
Alps,  lavines  of  the,  33 

—  their  importance  to  the  verdure  of  the 

Alps,  34 

—  glaciers  of  the  Alps,  34 
Amaryllis,  origin  of  the,  in  Europe,  91 
Ammophila  arundinacea,   or  sand-reed, 

its  singular  roots,  56 
Amoeba,  the,  102 
Anabas,  respiration  of,  261 
Angler-fish,  its  mode  of  taking  its  prey, 

263 

Anguis  fragilis,  its  hybernation,   282 
Animals,  importance  of  oxygen  to  the 

life  of,  16,  17 

—  antagonism  between  animal  and  vege- 

table life,  17 
Annelida,  166 

—  See  Worms 

Anolis,  locomotion  of  the,  273 
Ant-bear,  tail  of  the,  337 

—  his  masticatory  organ s,  339 

—  his  means  of  defence,  360 
Ant-lion,  larvae  of  the,  212 
Ants,  instincts  of,  231 

—  their  nests,  231 
Apple,  maggot  of  the,  219 
Aquarium,  an,  17 
Aquatic  insects,  199 
Archer-fishes,  their  mode  of  taking  their 

prey,  263 

Arctic  regions,  vegetables  and  animals 
of  the,  33 

—  influence  of  the  snows  of  the,  33,  64 
Armadillos,  their  burrows,  325 

—  their  armour,  368 

Ascidise,    solitary  and  compound,  145, 

146 
Asteroidea,  132 

—  snake-stars,  133 

—  star-fishes,  134 

Astronomy,  first  step  to  the  science  of,  2 

—  knowledge  of  the  Greeks,  3 

—  form  and  dimensions  of  the  earth,  3 

—  the  planetary  system,  3 
Ateuchus  sacer,  or  sacred  beetle,  221 
Avoset,  bill  of  the,  296 


396 


INDEX. 


BAN 


CHE 


BAND-WOKM,  the  gigantic,  171 
Banyan  tree,  the  roots  of  the,  60 
Barnacles,  structure  of,  175 
Bat,  formation  of  the,  321 

—  its  wings,  321 

—  its  cheek-pouches,  322 

—  its  tongue,  349 

—  its  flying  membrane,  354 

—  organs  of  smell,  354 

—  their  caution,  358 

Baya  sparrow,  nest  of  the,  307 

Beaks  of  birds,  293 

Bear,  dentition  of  the,  340,  341 

—  his  weapons  of  aggression  and  de- 

fence, 356 

—  parental  affection  of  the  ice-bear,  373 
Beaver,  formation  of  the,  320 

—  its  burrows,  363 

—  and  lodges,  364 

Bee,  domestic  economy  of  the,  231 
Birds,  286 

—  their  wings  and  rapidity  of  flight, 

286,  287 

—  their  organization  for  aerial  life,  287 

—  quill  feathers  and  their  uses,  288 

—  internal  structure  of  birds,  289 

—  their  beautiful  colours,  220 

—  their  legs,  290 

—  waders,  291 

—  swimmers,  292 

—  raptorial  birds,  292 

—  perchers,  293 

—  beaks  of  birds,  293 

—  their  tongues,  297 

—  their  digestive  apparatus,  299 
the  crop,  299 

the  gizzard,  299 

—  their  strength  of  vision,  300 

—  their  uses  in  creation,  301 

—  their  enemies,  302 

—  their  nests,  302 

—  their  heroism    in    defending    their 

nests,  312 

—  their  artifices  in  diverting  the  atten- 

tion of  their  enemies,  313 

—  their  memory  and  intelligence,  314 

—  their  migratory  instinct,  315 
Birgus  latro,  its  mode  of  obtaining  its 

food,  185 
Bison,  its  strength  and  swiftness,  326 

—  its  acuteness  of  smell,  352 

—  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  him, 

359 
Blossoms,  79 

—  their  functions,  80 

Boas,  their  colossal  strength,  277 
Boatbill,  beak  of  the,  296 
Bombardier-beetles,  their  defences,  208 
Botrylli,  146 

Bovista  gigantea,  its  marvellously  rapid 
growth,  51 


Brachinus  crepitans,  its  means  of  de- 
fence, 208 
Brachiopoda,  149 

Buenos  Ayres,  thistle  forests  of,  91 
Buffalo  African,  its  bird  guardian,  371 

—  East    Indian,    his     attack    of    the 

tiger,  358 

Buffalo-thorn,  spikes  of  the,  68 
Bunsen  and  Kirchhof,  their  discoveries 
of  the  constituents  of  the  solar  atmo- 
sphere and  of  the  sun's  central  orb,  6 
Burrowing  rodents,  362 

—  other  burrowers,  363,  379 
Butterfly,  wing  of  a,  under  the  micro- 
scope, 202 

—  its  defence,  203 

Buzzard,  his  instinct  in  attacking  snakes, 

284 
Byssus,  the,  150 


riADDICE-WOBMS,  their  means  of 
Ij    defence,  209 
Calyx  of  a  plant,  79 
Camel,  stomach  of  the,  347 

—  his  water-cells,  347 

Carbonic  acid,  its  importance  to  the  life 
of  plants,  17 

—  immense  quantities  of,  in  the  early 

ages  of  the  world,  42 
Carnivora,  teeth  of,  340 
Carpenter-bees,  their  nests,  227 
Caryota  horrida,  formidable  thorns  of 

the,  68 

Cassida  viridis,  its  defence  against  ene- 
mies, 205 

Cassique,  nest  of  the,  305 
Cat,  dentition  of  the,  341 

—  whiskers  of  the,  353 
Caterpillars,   their  modes   of   defence, 

207,  208 

Cayman,  its  maternal  affection,  280 
Cephalopoda,  their  mode  of  taking  their 

prey,  164 

Cereals,  origin  of  the,  91 
Cetaceans,  tails  of  the,  336,  357 

—  their  happiness,  380 

Ceylon,  natural  fortifications  of  thorn- 
trees  in,  69 

Chaetodons,  their  mode  of  taking  their 
prey,  263 

Chaffinch,  its  nest,  304 

Chameleon,  its  mode  of  locomotion,  273 

—  its  tongue,  275 

—  its  facility  of  changing  colour,  275 

—  its  eyes,  276 

Chamois,  agility  of  the,  328,  369 

—  its  sole-pads,  334 

—  its  sense  of  smell,  352 
Chartergus  nidulans,  nest  of,  230 
Cheek -pouches  of  mammalia,  350 


INDEX. 


397 


CHE 

Cheese-maggots,  their  jumping  powers, 

198 

Chelonians,  their  means  of  defence,  268 
Cimex  griseus,   its  parental  affection, 

225 

Cinnamon-tree,  70 
Cirripeda,  175 
Click-beetles,  199 

Climate,  causes  of  the  varieties  of,  40 
Climbing  perch,  respiration  of  the,  261 
Climbing  plants  of  the  tropical  forests, 

58 

—  stems  of,  66 

—  their  various  modes  of  attachment, 

66 

Clio,  its  conical  appendages  of  the  head, 
160 

—  its  dental  apparatus,  161 
Clothes-moth,  the,  211 
Clouds,  formation  of,  31 

Coal,  conditions  of  the  earth  under  which 
the  formation  of,  took  place,  42,  44 

—  character  of   the   vegetable  life   of 

which  the  coal-fields  consist,  42 

—  space  of  time  required  for  the  forma- 

tion of  the  coal-fields,  43 

—  thickness  of  the  coal-bearing  strata 

and  of  the  carboniferous  system, 
43,  44 

—  faults  in  coal-strata,  and  their  advan- 

tages and  disadvantages,  44,  45 
Cockchafer,   alimentary  canal  of   the, 

197 

Cockle,  the  common,  150 
Cocoa-nut  tree,  roots  of  the,  57 
Conchifera,  or  bivalve  shell-fish,  149 

—  nervous  system  of,  153 

—  their  food,  154 

Condor,  his  prodigious  flight,  287 
Copernicus,  his  discovery  of  the  rotation 

of  the  earth,  4 

Coral  islands,  formation  of,  122 
Corals,  120 
Corolla  of  a  plant,  79 
Cotton,  filaments  of,  86 
Cow- tree  of  Guiana,  70 
Crabs,  feet  of,  178 

—  their  moulting  process,  180 

—  their  faculty    of    reproducing    lost 

limbs,  181 

—  changes  of  crabs,  182 
larva  of  the  crab,  182 

—  land-crabs,  183 

—  their  food,  184 

—  their  enemies  and  means  of  defence, 

184 

—  Birgus  latro,  185 

—  hermit-crabs,  or  paguri,  186 

—  instinct  of  crabs,  187 
Creeping  plants  of  the  desert,  57 

—  stems  of,  66 


EAR 

Crocodile,  tongue  of  the,  276 
— ,  its  means  of  swimming,  276 
Crops  of  birds,  299 
Crossbill,  beak  of  the,  296 
Crow,  beak  of  the,  294 
Crustaceans,  175 

—  barnacles,  175 

—  acorn- shells,  175 

—  edriophthalmia,  177 

—  thoracostraca,  177 

stomatopoda,  177 

decapoda,  177 

—  legs  of  crustaceans,  178 

—  their  digestive  apparatus,  179 

—  their  moulting  processes,  180 

—  their  food,  184 

—  their  enemies,  184 

—  their  means  of  attack  and  defence, 

184 

—  their  modes  of  escaping  attacks,  186 

—  their  instincts,  187 
Cuckoo,  instincts  of  the,  311 
Curculio  nebulosus,  defence  of  the,  205 
Cuttle-fish,  161 

—  its  sucking  disks,  162 
Cyami,  or  whale-lice,  177 

—  claws  of  the,  179 
Cydippe,  128 


DECAPODA,  arms  and  tentacles  of 
the,  163 

—  their  structure,  177 

—  their  branchial  apparatus,  178 
Deer,  structure  of  the,  326 
Deirodon,  vertebral  teeth  of  the,  279 
Desmidiacese,  the,  97 

Dew,  causes  of,  30 

Diatomacese,  the,  98 

Dionea  muscipula,  or  Venus's  fly-trap, 

sensibility  of  the  leaves  of,  75 
Diphyes  campanulifera,  129 
Dog,  sense  of  smell  of  the,  352 

—  his  affection  for  man,  373 

—  his  intelligence,  376 
Dolphin,  playfulness  of  the,  380 
Dromiae,  means  of  defence  of  the,  185 
Duckbill,  burrow  of  the,  366 
Dugong,  fins  of  the,  319 
Dung-beetles,  instincts  of,  220 

—  their  intelligence,  222 
Dytiscidae,  or  water-beetles,  legs  of  the, 

199 


EARTH,  its  form  and  dimensions,  2,  3 
_ —  Copernicus's  discovery  of  its  rota- 
tion round  the  sun,  4 
—  dependence  of  terrestrial  life  on  the 
actual  distance  of  the  earth  from 
the  sun,  12 


398 


DsTDEX. 


EAR 

Earth — continued . 

—  relations   of  the  various  bodies  to 

heat,  13 

—  dependence  of  all  terrestrial  life  upon 

the  actual  constitution  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, 18 

—  the  harmonies  between  the  physical 

constitution  of  the  earth  and  its  in- 
habitants, 37 

—  effects  of  water  and  fire  on  the  earth,  37 

—  formation  of  alluvial  plains,  39 

—  beneficial  effects  of  the  inequalities 

of  the  earth's  surface,  39,  40 

—  importance  of  the  actual  distribution 

of  sea  and  land  to  the  present  con- 
dition of  organic  life,  40 

—  gradual    and    constant    progression 

from  inferior  to  more  perfect  forms 
of  life  shown  by  the  petnfactions  in 
the  earth,  41 

—  the  coal-forming  ages,  42,  43 

—  preparation  of  the  earth  for  the  re- 

ception of  man,  42 

—  awful  silence  of  the  earth  during  the 

coal-forming  ages,  43 

—  time  required  for  the  formation  of 

the  coal-fields,  43 

—  wise  distribution  of  the  fruits  of  the 

earth,  48 

—  influence  of  the  mangrove  in  the  for- 

mation of  tropical  delta-lands,  59 
Earth-worms,  170 

—  their  services  to  man,  170 
Earwig,  its  parental  affection,  225 
Echinodermata,  132 

—  primeval  sea-stars,  132 

—  feather-stars,  132 

—  snake-stars,  133 

—  sand-stars,  133 

—  star-fishes,  134 

—  echinus,  or  sea-urchin,  137 

—  sea-cucumbers,  139 

—  metamorphoses  of  the  echinoderms, 

139 
Echinus,  or  sea-urchin,  137 

—  structure  of  its  shell,  137 

—  its  dental  apparatus,  138 
Eels,  respiration  of,  261 

Eel,  electric,  organs  of  the,  255 

—  Indian  mode  of  capturing  them,  256 
Egg-urchin,  139 

Elateridse,  their  jumping  powers,  199 
Electrical  fishes,  255    • 
Elephant,  limbs  of  the,  327 

—  stomach  of  the,  348 

—  his  sense  of  feeling  in  his  proboscis, 

353 

—  his  mode  of  destroying  his  assail- 

ant, 361 

—  his  mental  faculties,  378 

—  his  docility,  378 


FOR 

Elephant-thorn,  68 

Eolis,  157 

Erigeron,  origin  of  the,  in  Europe,  91 

Ermine-moth,  its  means  of  defence,  210 

Euryale,  warted,  133 


FALCON,  head  of,  293 
Feather-stars,  132 
Feathers  of  birds,  286—289 

—  their  beautiful  colours,  290 
Felidse,  their  whiskers  as  a  means  of 

feeling,  353 

—  their  weapons   of   offence   and   ag- 

gression, 355 
Fig-tree,  parasitic,  67 

stems  of,  67 

File-fish,  250 

Fir-tree,  roots  of  the,  57 

Fire,  effects  of,  on  the  formation  of  the 

earth,  37,  38 
Fishes,  247 

—  their  constant  wars,  247 

—  their   fecundity  necessary  to  main- 

tain the  necessary  equilibrium,  248 

—  their  migrations,  248 

—  their  means  of  attack  and  defence, 

250 

—  their  dental  apparatuses,  251 

—  electrical  fish,  253 

—  diversity  of  the  forms  of  fishes,  257 

—  skeleton  of  fishes,  257 

—  their  fins,  258 

—  their  air-bladders,  258 

—  their  gills,  259 

—  their  migrations,  261 

—  their  mode  of  taking  their  prey,  262 

—  senses  of  fishes,  264 

—  their  eyes,  264,  265 

—  parental  affection  of  fishes,  266 
Flamingo,  beak  of  the,  297 

—  tongue  of  the,  297 

Flax  plants,  usefulness  of  the,  67 
Flowers,  variety  of,  79 

—  fragrance  of,  79 

—  the  calyx  and  corolla,  79 

—  the  pistils,  80 

—  the  anther  and  pollen,  80 

—  means  of  fructification,  82 
Flustrse,  or  sea-mats,  141 

—  avicularia,  144 

—  their  metamorphoses,  144 
Fly,  domestic,  foot  of  the,  201 

—  spiracle  of  the,  203 
Flying-fishes,  259 
Flying-foxes,  323 
Flying-squirrels,  324 
Fogs,  formation  of,  31 
Foraminifera,  the,  102 

—  their  minuteness,  103 

—  their  geological  importance,  104 


INDEX. 


399 


FOR 

Forest    trees.      See  Trees;    Vegetable 

Life 

Forest,  voices  of  the,  70 
Fowl,  digestive  apparatus  of  the,  299 
Frigate-bird,  his  prodigious  flight,  287 
Frog-fish,  its  mode  of  progression,  261, 

262 
Frogs,    their    means    of    escape   from 

enemies,  270 
Fungi,    their     enormous    reproductive 

powers,  51,  52,  85 
—  their  sporules,  85 


PALL-NUTS,  origin  of,  216 

U  Garden  spiders,  238 
Gasteropoda,  or  snails,  154 

—  their  internal  structure,  154 

—  their  shells,  155 

—  their  operculum,  155 

—  their  masticatory  apparatus,  156 

—  their  digestive  apparatus,  158 

—  their  caution,  159 

Gecarcini,  or  land-crabs,   legs   of  the, 

178 
Gecko,  toes  of  the,  273 

—  memory  of  the,  281 

—  his  means  of  escape  from  his  enemies, 

359 

Gibraltar,  Kock  of,  apes  of  the,  357 
Giraffe,  tongue  of  the,  349 
Gizzards  of  birds,  299 
Glaciers,  their  importance  to  the  valleys, 
34 

—  rate  of  their  progress,  34 
Glauci,  157 

Goby,  the  black,  its  parental  affection, 

267 
Gravitation,  Newton's  discovery  of  the 

universal  law  of,  4 
Greeks,  their  knowledge  of  the  form  of 

the  earth,  3 

Grosbeak,  social,  nest  of  the,  308 
Guinea-fowl,  beak  of  the,  294 
Gyrini,  or  whirligigs,  200 


HAG,   respiratory  "apparatus  of  the, 
260 

Hail,  causes  of,  28,  30 
Halibut,  immense  size  of  the,  249 
Halichondria,  112 
Halina  papillaris,  113 
Hamsters,  cheek -pouches  of  the,  350 
—  their  burrows,  363 
Hare,  formation  of  the,  328 

—  jumping  hare,  329 

—  provisions  for  its  safety,  361 
Hassar,  its  mode  of  progression,  261 

—  its  parental  affection,  267 
Hawk-moth,  caterpillar  of,  208 


INS 

Heat,  various  sources  of,  11 

—  effects  of,  12 

—  nature  of  heat,  15 

—  heat  the  first    grand  cause    of  the 

winds,  17 

Hedgehog,  armour  of  the,  367 
Hedysarum  gyrans,  motion  of  the  leaves 

of,  76 

Hemp-plants,  usefulness  of  the,  67 
Herbs,  stems  of,  67 
Hermit-crabs,  or  paguri,  187 
Herschel,     Sir    W.,   his    discovery  of 

Uranus,  5 

Hippidse,  legs  of  the,  178 
Hippopotamus,  senses  of  the,  361 
Hirudo  medicinalis,  mouth  of  the,  169 
Holothurise,  or  sea-cucumbers,  139 
Hoofs  of  ruminants,  359 
Horns  of  animals  as  defensive  weapons, 

359 
Horses,  hoofs  of,  as  a  defensive  weapon, 

359 

—  caution  of  wild  horses,  369 

—  affection  of  the  horse  for  man,  373 

—  his  sagacity,  377 
Humming-bird,  bill  of  the,  294 
Humus,  or  vegetable  mould,  properties 

of  the,  62 

Hunting  spiders,  240 
Hysenas,  their  mode  of  life,  356 
Hyalea  globulosa,  159 
Hybernation  of  animals,  379 
Hydrometridse,  201 


TANTHIN^E,  their  air-bladders,  155 
J_     —  their  means  of  defence,  155 
Ibis,  head  and  legs  of  the,  291 
Ice,  its  protection  of  animal  life,  32-34 

—  effects  of  a  desert  of  ice  on  the  earth, 

35 
Ichneumon,  his  destruction  of  reptiles 

and  their  eggs,  285 
Ichneumon-fly,  instincts  of  the,  223 
Iguana,  its  means  of  defence,  274 
Infusoria,  106 

—  various  forms  of,  107 

—  their  range  of  habitation,  110 

—  their  mode  of  reproduction,  110 

—  their  encysting  process,  110 
Insects,  189 

—  harmonious  balance  between  leaves 

and,  77 

—  as  a  means  of  fructification  of  plants, 

—  their  integuments,  189 

—  the  insect-skeleton,  190 

—  their  metamorphoses,  191 
larvae,  191 

pupse,  192 

the  perfect  insect,  192 


400 


INDEX. 


INS 

Insects — continued. 

—  antennae  of,  193 

—  sense  of  smelling,  193 

—  eyes  of  insects,  194 

—  anasticatory  organs,  195 

—  chewing  and  sucking  insects,  196 

—  digestive  organs,  197 

—  motions  of  insects,  198 

aquatic  insects,  199 

foot  of  the  domestic  fly,  201 

—  tracheae,  or  air-vessels,  and  stigmata 

of  insects,  202 

—  their  wings,  203 

—  their  defences,  205 

—  their  vitality,  206 

—  their  modes  of  feigning  death,  207 

—  their  concealments,  208 

—  their  ravages,  215 

—  insects  useful  to  man,  216 

—  their  numberless  enemies,  217,  218 

—  their  instincts,  219 

—  their  parental  affection,  225 

—  their  architectural  skill,  225 
Instinct  of  insects,  219 
Intestinal  worms,  171 


TELLY-FISHES,  125 

d     —  ciliograde,  128 

Jerboa,  or  jumping-hare,  its  structure, 

328 
Jungle-nails,  or  thorns  of  the  Acacia  to- 

mentosa,  68 


KANGAROO,  its  sense  of  smell,  352 
—  its  parental  affection,  274 
Kinkajo'u,  prehensile  tail  of  the,  335 


T  AMELLIBRANCHIATA,  149 
J_J  Laminariae,  or  oar-weeds,  55 
Lammergeier,  his  lofty  nights,  300 
Lamprey,  dental  apparatus  of  the,  253 

—  its  respiratory  apparatus,  260 
Land-crabs,  183 
Land-leeches,  170 

Laplace,   his  calculations  of  planetary 

perturbations,  4 
Lappet-moth,  the,  205 
Lavines  of  the  Alps,  33 
Leaves  of  plants,  71 

—  leaves,  the  chief  ornament  of  spring,  71 

—  uses  of  leaves  to  plants,  71 

—  internal  growth  of  leaves,  72 

—  cuticles  and  pores  of  leaves,  73 

—  pliability  and    resisting    power    of 

leaves,  74 

—  their  functions,  75 

—  their  stems,  75 

—  sensibility  of  leaves,  75 


MAM 

Leaves — continued. 

—  their  enemies,  and  defences,  76 

—  hairs,  prickles,,  and  secretions,  76 

—  harmonies  between  leaves  and  in- 

sects, 77 
Leech,  mouth  and  foot  of  the,  169 

—  their  enemies,  170 

—  the  land-leech,  170 
Leucophrys  patula,  108 
Lichens,  52 

Light,  composition  of,  13 

—  the  prismatic  colours,  13 

—  the  harmony  between  colours  and  the 

human  mind,  14 

—  what  is  light?  15 

Limpet,  strength  of  its  sucker,  156 

—  its  tongue,  158 

Lion,  his  means  of  defence  and  aggres- 
sion, 355 

—  skeleton  of  the,  355 
Lithophytes,  120 

—  social  republicans,  120 

—  coral  islands,  122 

Lizards,  their  means  of  defence,  270, 274 

—  toes  of  the  gecko,  273 

—  tongues  of  lizards,  274 
Llama,  sole-pads  of  the,  334 
Lobster,  legs  of  the,  179 

—  its  moulting  process,  180 
Lob-worms,  170 

Locusts,  ravages  of,  215 
Looper-moth,  caterpillar  of,  207 
Lophius  piscatorius,  its  mode  of  taking 
its  prey,  263 


TVTACROCYSTIS    PYKIFERA,     its 
ILL    wonderful  stem  and  roots,  55 
Mammalia,  317 

—  modifications  in  the  structure  of  their 

limbs,  317 

—  fins  of  the  whale,  walrus,  and  seal, 

318,  319 

—  wings  of  the  bat,  32 1 

—  the  Nycteris,  323 

—  flying  squirrels,  324 

—  moles,  325 

—  limbs  of   the    cervine    and"  bovine 

races,  326 

—  the  elephant,  327 

—  the  hare,  328 

—  the  kangaroo,  329 

—  the  sloth,  329 

—  monkeys,  330 

—  wanderoos,  331 

—  toes  and  hands  of  mammalia,  332 
the  cloven    hoof  in  the  cervine 

and  bovine  races,  333 

—  sole-pads  of  ruminants,  334 

—  tails  of  mammalians,  335 

—  their  skin,  337 


INDEX. 


401 


MAM 

Mammalia — con  tinned '. 

—  their  masticatory  organs,  338 

—  stomachs  of  ruminants,  345 

—  intestinal    structure    of   ruminants, 

346 

—  tongues  of  mammalia,  348 

—  cheek- pouches,  350 

—  the  senses  of  mammalia,  350 
their  eyes,  351 

smell,  352 

feeling,  352 

—  defensive  and  aggressive  provisions 

for  quadrupeds,  355 

—  provisions  for  their  safety,  361 

—  habitations  of  quadrupeds,  361 

—  gregarious  quadrupeds,  369 

—  friendship  of  quadrupeds,  372 

—  their  affection  for  man,  373 

—  and  for  their  young,  373 

—  their  services  rendered  to  man,  375 

• —  protection  of  quadrupeds  against  the 
severity  of  winter,  379 

—  their  winter  sleep,  379 

—  happiness  of  the  brute  creation,  380 
Man,  preparation  of  the  earth  for  the 

reception  of,  42 

—  his  subterranean  treasuries,  46 

—  influence  of  the  seasons  on  him,  47 
• —  his  pre-eminence,  382 

—  his  greatness  and  his  weakness,  382 

—  his  brain,  383 

—  the  nerves,  384 

the  optic  nerve,  385 

the  acoustic  nerve,  385 

the  olfactory  and  gustative  nerves, 

386 
the  spinal  nerves,  386 

—  man  and  the  ape  compared,  389 

—  his  hand,  389 

—  his  skull,  390 

—  his  pelvis,  391 

—  his  foot,  391 

—  muscular  apparatus  of  the  face  of 

man,.392 

—  the  aims  of  human  existence,  392 
Mangrove,  aerial  roots  of  the,  59 

—  their  formation  of  new  land,  59 
Manis,  tail  of,  336 

Mantis,  hunting  manoeuvres  of  the,  212 
Marmot,  its  protective  instinct,  370 

—  its  happiness,  381 

Marsupialia,  parental  affection  of  the, 

374 

Medusae,  structure  of  the,  126 
Moitfichilae,  or  leaf-cutters,  their  nests, 

227 

Melon-cactus,  prickles  of  the,  68 
Meteoric  stones,  5 

—  great  numbers  of,  6 

—  composition  of,  6 
Microscopical  plants,  93 


NES 

Microscopical  plants — continued. 

—  uncertain  limits  between  the  animal 

and  vegetable  world,  93 

—  simplest  form  of  plants,  94 

—  protococci,  94 

—  oscillatorise,  95 

—  volvocinse,  96 

—  desmidise,  97 

—  diatomacese,  98 

—  protozoa,  101 

rhizopods  and  foraminifera,  101 

Milky  way,  the,  8 

Mole,  structure  of  the,  325 

—  its  eyes,  351 

—  its  burrows,  366 

Mole-cricket,  its  means  of  burrowing, 
198 

—  its  architectural  skill,  225 
Mollusca,  number  of  living  species  of, 

141 

—  characters  of  molluscs,  141 

—  flustra,  or  sea-mats,  142 

—  solitary    and    compound    ascidians, 

144 

—  salpse,  147 

—  pyrosomata,  148 

—  conchifera,  149 

—  gasteropoda,  154 

—  pteropoda,  1 59 

—  onychoteuthis,  163 

—  number  and  importance  of  the  mol- 

luscs, 164 
Mongoos,  his  destruction  of   serpents, 

285 
Monkeys,  structure  of,  330 

—  prehensile  tails  of  some,  335 

—  their  vigilance    and    cunning,    357, 

370 

—  their  protective  instincts,  370,  371 

—  man  and  the  apes  compared,  389 
Moon,  its  distance  from  the  earth,  3 

—  its  influence  on  marine  life,  23 
Mountains,  their  contributions  to  the 

formation  of  tracts  of  fertile  land,  38 
Mullingong,  formation  of  the,  320 
Musacese,  leaves  of  the,  72 
Mushrooms,  marvellous  rapidity  of  their 

growth,  51 
Musquash,  habitations  of  the,  365 


"VTAEWHAL,  horn  of  the,  344 

.IN    Nebulse,    constituents   of  many  of 

the,  8 

Necrophori,  or  sexton-beetles,  221 
Nemertes  gigas,  171 
Neptune,  the  planet,  discovery  of,   by 

Le  Verrier,  5 
Nereocystis  lutkeana,    its  marvellously 

rapid  growth,  51 
Nests  of  birds,  302 


D  D 


402 


INDEX. 


NES 

Nests  of  birds — continued. 

—  sand-martin,  302 

—  burrowing-puffin,  302 

—  woodpeckers,  303 

—  chaffinches,  304 

—  cassiques,  305 

—  tupuba,  305 

—  the  Baltimore  oriole,  305 

—  weaver-birds,  306 

—  bay  a  sparrows,  307 

—  social  grosbeak,  308 

—  tailor-bird,  309 

—  tallegalla,  or  brush-turkey,  310 

—  sea-lark,  311 

—  cuckoo,  311 

Newton,  Sir  I.,  his  discovery  of  the 
universal  law  of  gravitation,  4 

Nitrogen,  as  a  constituent  of  our  at- 
mosphere, 16 

Noctiluca  miliaris,  105 

Notonectidse,  or  boat-flies,  their  method 
of  motion,  200 

Nummulites,  103 

Nut-weevil,  219 


OCEAN,  its  immensity,  21 
—  its  past  and  future,  21 

—  blessings  it  gives  us,  22 

—  its  ebb  and  flood,  22 

—  causes  of  the  tides,  23,  24 

—  their  influence  on  the  organic  life  of 

the  seas,  23 

—  system  of  ocean-currents,  24,  25 
- —  their  importance,  25 

—  evidence  of  unity  of  design  resulting 

from  the  intimate  connection  of 
the  phenomena  of  the  seas  and  the 
distant  celestial  bodies,  26 

—  submarine  meadows  of  grass-wrack, 

55 

—  causes  of  the  luminousness   of  the 

sea,  104,  148 

—  submarine  gardens,  116 
Octopoda,  arms  of  the,  163 
Ocypoda,   or    sand-crabs,   legs  of  the, 

178 
Oestri,  or  breeze-flies,  their  instincts, 

224 
Onisci,  or  wood-lice,  177 

—  feet  of  the,  179 
Onychotenthis,  arms   and   tentacles  of 

the,  161 
Ophrydinse,  109 

Opossum,  parental  affection  of  the,  374 
Orang-oetan,  skull  of  the,  391 
Oriole,  Baltimore,  nest  of  the,  305 
Oscillatorise,  the,  95 
Ostracion,  cuirass  of  the,  250 
Ostrich,  wings  of  the,  288 

—  its  parental  affection,  313 


PRO 

Ostrich — continued. 

—  its  artifices  in  deceiving  its  enemies, 

313 

Otter,  formation  of  the,  320 
Oxen,  wild,  of  the  llanos,  their  mode  of 

defence,  369 
Oxygen,  its  combustibility,  16 

—  its  importance  to  animal  life,  1 7 
Oysters,  153 


PAGURI,  habits  of  the,  187 
Palm-trees,  roots  of,  57 

stems  of,  66 

thorns  of  the  Caryota  horrida,  68 

Parasitic  plants,  66,  67 
Parrots,  intelligence  of,  314 
Parrot-fish,    dental    apparatus   of    the, 

253 

Peccari,  mode  of  defence  of  the,  369 
Pelican,  foot  of  the,  292 
-  bill  of  the,  295 
Pelopseus,   or  dirt-dauber,   its    earthen 

cells,  226 

Pengolin,  tail  of  the,  336 
Penguin,  wings  of  the,  288 
Pennatulae,  120 
Pentacrinites,  132 
Perching  birds,  293 

Phalangers,  prehensile  tails  of  the,  336 
Phallus  foetidus,  its  rapid  growth,  51 
Philodina  roseola,  173 
Pholades,  151 

—  their  burrowing  apparatus,  151 
Phyllostomas,  tongue  of,  349 
Pine,  roots  of  the,  57,  58 
Pistils  of  plants,  80 

Planetary  system,  the,  3 

—  Kepler's  discovery  of  their  motions,  4 

—  planetary  perturbations,  4 
Plantain,  gigantic  size  of  the  stem  and 

leaves  of  the,  72 
Plants.     See  Vegetable  Life. 
Platypus,   duck-billed,   its   masticatory 

organs,  340 

Podurinse,  or  spring-tails,  199 
Poison-fangs  of  serpents,  277 
Pollen  of  plants,  80 
Polycystina,  the,  105 
Polyzoa,  143 

Porcupine,  its  means  of  defence,  368 
Porliera  hygrometrica,  the,  75 
Poulp,  sucking  disks  of  the,  162 
Prairie-dogs,  burrows  of  the,  362 
Protococci,  the,  94 

—  their  still  and  motile  cells,  95 

—  their  mode  of  propagation,  95 
Protophyta,  94 

Protozoa,  microscopical,  101 

—  rhizopods  and  foraminifera,  101, 102 
their  geological  importance,  10 


INDEX. 


403 


PRO 

Protozoa — continued. 

—  noctiluca  miliaris,  105 
—  polycystina,  105 

—  infusoria,  106 

—  importance  of  protozoa  in  the  house- 

hold of  nature,  111 

—  sponges,  112 
Pteropoda,  159 

—  conical  appendage  of  the  Clio's  head, 

160 

—  its  dental  apparatus,  161 
Pteropus,  skeleton  of,  321 
Ptygura  melicerta,  172 
Puffin,  the  burrowing,  302 
Pyrosomata,  structure  of,  148 
Pysalus,  or  Portuguese  man-of-war,  130 
Pythons,  their  colossal  strength,  277 

—  their  mode  of  taking  their  prey,  277 


Q 


UININE,  70 


EAFT  SPIDERS,  241 
Rain,  origin  of,  27,  30 

—  difference  in  the  quantity  of,  at  vari- 

ous heights,  32 
Raptorial  birds,  292 
Rattans,  root  of  the,  58 

—  stems  of  the,  66 
,     Razor  shells,  153 

Reptiles,  268 
I     —  their  defences,  268 

—  chelonians,  268 

—  lizards,  270 

—  frogs,  270 

—  toads,  271 

—  snakes,  271 

• —  intellectual  powers  of  reptiles,  280 
—  maternal    affection  of   some   kinds, 
280,  281 

—  memory  of  lizards,  281 

—  hybernation  of  reptiles,  281 

—  their  uses  to  man,  282 

—  their  enemies,  283 

—  their  fecundity,  285 

Reticularia  maxima,  immense  number 

of  its  seed  spores,  51,  85 
Rhinoceros,  armour  of  the,  361 

—  its  protector  bird,  371 
Rhinolophus,  organs  of  smell  of,  354 
Rhizopods,  101 

Rhizostomata,  structure  of  the,  126 
Rivers,  the  constant  sources  of,  27-29 

—  voices  of  the,  30 
Rodentia,  dentition  of,  342 

—  provisions  for  their  safety,  361 

—  their  burrows,  362 
Roots  of  plants,  54 

—  of  the  Algae,  54,  55 

—  of  the  creepers  of  South  Africa,  56 


SEE 

Roots — continued. 

—  of  forest  trees,  56,  57 

—  of  the  climbers,  58 

—  of  the    mangrove,    screw-pine,    and 

banyan,  59,  60 

—  radical  filaments  and  spongioles,  6 1 
Rotifera,  172 

—  their     complex     organization     and 

habits,  172,  173 

—  their  tenacity  of  life,  174 
Ruminantia,  dentition  of,  343 

—  power  and  anger  of  the  bovine  races, 

358 
Rynchophorous  insects,  219 


SABELLA  UNISPIRATA,  168 
—  alveolaria,  1 68 
Salmon,  their  migratory  instincts,  248 

—  their  longevity,  249 
Salpse,  147 
Sand-hoppers,  177 
Sand-martin,  nest  of  the,  302 
Sand-reed,  the,  56 
Sand-star  fishes,  133 

Sand- wasp,  instincts  of  the,  222 
Saw-fish,  maxillary  teeth  of  the,  252 
Scari,  teeth  of  the,  253 
Screw-pine,  roots  of  the,  60 

—  their  services  to  more  luxuriant  vege- 

tation, 60 
Scyllsea,  157 
Sea-anemones,  116 

—  their  animal  nature,  116 

—  their  internal  structure,  117 

—  tentacles,  117 

—  urticating  organs,  118 

—  their  vitality,  119 

—  their  modes  of  locomotion,  119 
Sea-cucumbers,  139 

Sea-lark,  nest  of  the,  311 

—  its  artifices  to  deceive  its  enemies, 

313 

Sea-mat,  leaf-like,  142 
Seasons,  their  influence  on  organic  life, 

47 
Sea-stars,  primeval,  132 

living,  133 

Sea-urchins,  137 

Seal,  skeleton  of  the,  319,  357 

—  teeth  of  the,  341,  342 

—  its  protective  instinct,  370 
Seeds,  and  their  migrations,  84 

—  their  defences,  84 

—  their  dissemination  over  the  earth, 

85 

—  their  feathers  and  wings,  84 

—  seeds  dispersed  by  jerking,  86 

—  influence  of  water-courses,  86 

—  seeds  of  littoral  plants,  87 

—  mangrove  seeds,  88 


404 


INDEX. 


SEE 

Seeds — con  tin  ued, 

—  the  lower  animals  and  man  as  the 

disseminators  of  plants,  88-90 
Sensitive  plants,  of  Brazil,  75 
Sepia  officinalis,  162 

—  its  sucking  disks,  162 
Serpula  contortuplicata,  168 
Sexton,  or  burying-beetle,  221 

—  its  intelligence,  221,  222 
Shark,  teeth  of  the,  251,  252 
Sheep,  dentition  of,  343 

—  stomach  of  the,  344 
Siluridse,  spines  of  the,  251 
Siphonostomata,  176 

—  their  habits,  176 

Sirius,  its  immense  distance  from  the 
earth,  7 

—  composition  of  its  atmosphere,  8 
Skimmer,  black,  bill  of  the,  295 
Skinks,  their  mode  of  locomotion,  273 
Skunks,  their  offensive  fluid,  368 
Sloth,  structure  of  the,  329 

—  hand  of  the,  333 

—  its  means  of  defence,  360 

—  its  happiness,  380 

Slow,  or  blind  worm,  its  hybernation, 

282 

Slugs,  155 
Snails,  154 

—  their  winter  defence,  156 
Snake-stars,  133 

their  means  of  separating  them- 
selves into  pieces,  133 
Snakes,  their  locomotion,  271 

—  the  active  colubridse,  277 

—  poison  teeth  of  the  serpent,  277 

—  their  enemies,  284 
Snow,  causes  of,  28,  30 

—  its  protection  of  animal  life,  32,  33 

—  importance   of  its    loose    moveable 

nature,  33 

Social  wasp,  nest  of  the,  230 
Sounds,  the  air  considered  as  the  bearer 
of,  19 

—  the  voices  of  nature,  19 
Sphalax  typhlus,  his  blindness,  351 
Spiders,  235 

—  their  venomous  apparatus,  235 

—  their  mandibles,  235 

—  their  spinnarets,  236 

—  uses  of  their  spinning  organs,  236, 

237 

—  the  garden  spider,  238 

—  the  patience  of  spiders,  239 

—  hunting  spiders,  240 

—  trap-door  spiders,  240 

—  water  spiders,  241 

—  the  raft  spider,  243 

—  enemies  of  spiders,  244 

—  their  fecundity,  245 

—  their  parental  affection,  245 


SWI 

Spiders — continued. 

—  their  use  in  the  household  of  nature, 

246 

—  the  eyeless  kinds,  246 
Sponge-crab,  185 
Sponges,  112 

—  their  animal  nature,  112 

—  their  organisation,  112 

—  their  skeletons,  112 

—  their  oscula,  113 

—  their    sensibility    and    spontaneous 

movements,  114 

—  their  mode  of  propagation,  114 

—  their  economy  in  the  household  of 

the  seas,  115 

Spoonbill,  beak  of  the,  296 
Springs,  formation  of,  29 
Squirrel,  structure  of  the,  331 
Stalita  tsenaria,  instincts  of  the,  246 
Star-fishes,  134 

their  locomotive  apparatus,  134 

mechanism  of  their  suckers,  135 

their  skeleton,  135 

their    prey   and    their   enemies, 

135 
Star-gazer,  its  mode  of  taking  its  prey, 

262 
Starry  vault,  splendour  of  the,  2 

first  step  to  a  knowledge  of  the, 

2 

our  '  world-island,'  8 

vast    prospects    into    space   and 

time,  9 
Stars,  fixed,  their   enormous   distances 

from  the  earth,  7 

—  their  swiftness  of  motion,  9 
Stars,  shooting,  5 
Steinbock,  agility  of  the,  328 
Stems  of  trees,  65 

Stentor  Kceselii,  106 
Stickleback,  defences  of  the,  250 

—  its  parental  affection,  266 
Sting-rays,  251 

Stomach  of  ruminants,  345 

Stomatopoda,  177 

Storks,  intelligence  of,  315 

—  their  migratory  instincts,  315 
Sturgeon,  their  migratory  instincts,  248 

—  their  size,  249 
Sun,  the  setting,  1 

—  its  distance  from  the  earth,  3 

—  Bunsen   and    Kirchhof s  discoveries 

of  the  composition  of  the  solar 
atmosphere  and  of  the  sun's  cen- 
tral orb,  6 

—  motion  of  the  solar  system,  9 

—  the  heat  of  the  sun  the  cause  of  the 

ventilation  of  the  atmosphere,  17, 

18 

Swan,  gizzard  of,  299 
Swimming  birds,  292 


INDEX. 


405 


TAI 

rpAILOR-BIRD,  nest  of  the,  309 

JL   Tallegalla,  or  brush-turkey,  nest  of 

the,  310 

Terebella  conchilega,  168 
Termites,  nests  of,  233,  234 
Thistle  forests  in  South  America,  91 
Thoracostraca,  177 

—  stomatopoda,  177 

—  decapoda,  177 
Thorns  of  plants,  67,  68 
Tides,  causes  of  the,  22 

—  influence  of  the,  on  marine  life,  23 
Tiger  and  the  dog,  friendship  between 

the,  372 
Tiger-beetle,  alimentary  canal   of  the, 

196 

larva  of  the,  214 

Toads,    their  concealment    from    their 

enemies,  274 

Tongues  of  mammalia,  348 
Tornado,  its  beneficial  effects,  36 
Torpedo,  electrical  organs  of  the,  255 
Tortoise,  defences  of  the,  268 

—  legs  of  the,  272 
Toucan,  tongue  of  the,  298 
Trapdoor  spiders,  240 
Tree-frog,  habits  of  the,  274 
Trees,  roots  of  forest,  57 

—  the  various  growth  of,  65 

—  the  stems  of  trees  and  their  struc- 

ture, 65 

—  characters  of  the  wood  of  .different 

trees,  69 

—  harmonies    between    the  trunks    of 

trees  and  the  wants  of  man,  69 
Trogidse,  defences  of  the,  205 
Trypoxylon,  nest  of  the,  226 
Tupuba,  nest  of  the,  305 
Turbellaria,  171 

Turkey-buzzards,  memory  of,  314 
Turtles,  defences  of,  269 

—  loggerheads,  270 

—  legs  of  the  turtle,  272 


URANUS,  discovery  of,  by  Herschel, 
5 
Utricularia  vulgaris,  fructification  of,  82 


TTALLISNERIA  spiralis,  curious  fruc- 
V    tification  of,  83 
Vanessse,  defences  of  the,  205 
Vegetable     life,     antagonism    between 

animal  and,  17 
snow  and  ice  as  protectors  of,  32, 

33 
character  of  the  vegetation  of  the 

coal-fields,  42 
prodigious  variety  of  plants  on 

the  surface  of  the  earth,  49 


WIN 

Vegetable  life — continued. 

the  vegetable  cell,  and  its  meta- 
morphoses, 50,  51 

mode  of  growth  of  plants,  51 

rapidity  of  growth  of  some  of  the 

inferior  plants,  51 

structure  of  the  higher  order  of 

plants,  52 

magnificence  of  the  vegetable 

world,  53 

roots  of  plants,  54 

stems  of  plants,  65 

defences  of  plants,  67 

leaves  of  plants,  7 1 

blossoms,  79 

seeds,  84 

progress  of  vegetation  on  the 

originally  naked  rock,  92 

Vegetable  mould.     See  Humus 

Velella,  locomotion  of  the,  130 

Venomous  apparatus  of  spiders,  235 

Venus' s  fly-trap,  leaves  of,  75 

Venus's  chariot,  159 

Vicuna,  its  caution  and  swiftness,  370 

Viper,  poison  apparatus  of  the,  278 

Volvox  globator,  the,  96 

Vorticella  cyathina,  108 


WADING-birds,  291 
—  head  and  legs  of,  291 
Walking-leaf  insect,  206 
Walking-stick  insect,  206 
Walrus,  its  protective  instinct,  370 

—  its  happiness,  381 
Wanderoo,  leaps  of  the,  331 
Wasp,  nest  of  the,  229 

—  nest  of  the  social  wasp,  230 
Water,  effects  of,  on  the  formation  of  the 

earth,  37,  38 

—  effects  of  running  water  at  various 

velocities,  39 

Water-beetles,  legs  of  the,  199 
Water-plants,  fructification  of,  82 
Water-scorpion,  tracheal  system  of  the, 

202 

Water-spiders,  241 

Weasels,  their  weapons  of  aggression,  356 
Weaver,  defence  of  the,  251 
Weaver-bird,  nest  of  the,  306 
Webs  of  spiders,  236 
Whale-lice,  177,  179 
Whales,  tails  of,  336,  357 

—  their  weapons  of  defence,  357 

—  their  parental  affection,  374 
Wild  boar,  tusks  of  the,  344 

Winds,  importance  of  the,  to  the  purity 
of  the  atmosphere,  1 7 

—  causes  of  the,  17,  18 

—  winds  as  a  means  of  disseminating 

seeds,  85,  86 


406 


INDEX. 


WIN 


Wings  of  insects,  203 

—  of  birds,  287 

—  quill-feathers,  288 

—  wings  of  the  bat,  321 
Winter,  fertilising  influence  of,  64 
Wood,  characters  of  the,    of  different 

trees,  69 

Woodpecker,  nest  of  the,  303 
Worms,  166 

—  are  they  helpless  ?  166 

—  beauty  of  the  free  marine  annelides, 
166 

—  their  feet,  167 


ZOS 

Worms — continued. 

—  sedentary  or  tubicolar  worms,  167 

—  naides,  169 

—  water-leeches,  169 

—  land-leeches,  170 

—  earth-worms,  170 

—  intestinal  worms,  171 

—  rotifera,  172 


'TOSTEEA    marina,    or    grass-wrack, 
LJ    submarine  meadows  of,  55 


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